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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

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University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


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Dandelion  cottage 


CARROLL  WATSON   RANKIN 


IVith  Illustrations  by  Florence  Scovel  Shinn  and  Elizabeth 
R.  Ftniey 


NEW  YORK 

HENRY   HOLT  AND   COMPANY 


Copyright,  1904 

BY 

HENRY  HOLT  AND  COMPANY 


October,   1934 

N.  R.  A. 


PRINTED    IN    THE    U.   S.    A.    BY 

QUINN    &    BODEN    COMPANY.    INC. 

RAHWAY,    N.    J. 


TO 

RHODA,  FRANCES  AND  ELEANOR, 

Whose  lively  interest  made  the  writing 
of  this  little  book  a  joyful  task. 


803S79 


THE  PERSONS  OF  THE  STORY 


The  Dandelion 
Cottagers. 


Bettie  Tucker: 

Jeanie  Mapes: 

Mabel  Bennett: 

Marjory  Vale: 

The  Tucker  Family  :  —  Mostly  boys. 

The  Mapes  Family  :  —  Two  parents,  two 

boys. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bennett  :  —  Merely  Parents. 
Aunty  Jane:  —  A  Parental  Substitute. 
Mrs.  Crane  :  — The  Pleasantest  Neighbour. 
Mr.  Black  :  —  The  Senior  Warden. 
MRc  Downing:  —  The  Junior  Warden. 
Miss  Blossom:  —  The  Lodger. 
Mr.  Blossom:  —  The  Organ  Tuner. 
Grandma  Pike:  —  Another  Neighbour. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Milligan  : 
Laura  Milligan  : 
The  Milligan  Boy  and 
the  Milligan  Baby 
The  Milligan  Dog  : 


The 

Unpleasantest 

Neighbours. 


CONTENTS 

L    Mr.  Black's  Terms  ....  i 

11.     Paying  the  Rent i6 

HI.    The  Tenants  take  Posses- 
sion        28 

TV.     Furnishing  the  Cottage  .    .  44 
\.     Poverty  in  the  Cottage  .    .  58 
YI.    A  Lodger  to  the  Rescue  .    .  68 
Ani.     Making  the  Lodger  Com- 
fortable      77 

VUL    The  Girls  Disclose  a  Plan  .  85 
IX-    An    Unexpected    Crop    of 

Dandelions 98 

X.    Changes  in  the  Neighbour- 
hood      .110 

XI.    Plans  for  Mrs.  Crane's  Old 

Age 119 


Yin 

Contents 

Chapter 

Page 

XII. 

The  Coming  of  the  MilH- 

gans 

130 

XIII. 

The  Unpleasantness  of 

Laura 

138 

XIV. 

An  Embarrassing  Visitor  . 

ISO 

XV. 

More  Trouble  with  Laura  . 

162 

XVI. 

A  Lively  Afternoon  .    .    . 

171 

XVII. 

Laura's    Version    of    the 

Story 

182 

XVIII. 

The  Junior  Warden  .    .    . 

193 

XIX. 

An  Unexpected  Letter  .    . 

204 

XX. 

An  Obdurate  Landlord  .    . 

214 

XXI. 

Submitting  to  the  Inevita- 

ble     

221 

XXII. 

Mabel  Plans  a  Surprise  . 

231 

XXIIL 

Several  Surprises  Take  Ef- 

fect   

239 

XXIV. 

A   Hurried    Retreat  .    .    . 

250 

XXV. 

The   Response  to  Mabel's 

Telegram 

260 

XXVI. 

Mr.  Downing's  Apology  . 

269 

Contents 


IX 


Chapter  Page 

XXVII.    The  Odd  Behaviour  of  tbe 

Grown-ups 277 

XXVIII.    Just  before   Dinner  ...  289 
XXIX.    A  Bewildering  Silence  Ex- 
plained      299 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGt 

'^Yes/'  said  Bettie,  * 'We're  Looking  for  a 
House."         By   Florence   Scovel  Shinn. 

Frontispiece 

A  Middle-aged  Young  Lady  Stood  on  the 
Door-step.     By  Elizabeth  R.  Finley     ,  69 

Laura,  Perched  High  on  the  Fence,  Began 
to  Sing.     By  Elizabeth  R.  Finley    .     .     .173 

*' 'We're  the  People  that  have  been  De- 
ceived,' said  Mrs.  Mulligan."  By  Flor- 
ence Scovel  Shinn 247 

**  Holding  Each  Other's  Middle -ag*id 
Hands.'*     ^y  Florence  Scovel  Shinn    .     .  305 


DANDELION  COTTAGE 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  little  square  cottage  was  unoccu- 
pied. It  had  stood  for  many  years 
on  the  parish  property,  having,  indeed,  been 
built  long  before  the  parish  bought  the  land 
for  church  purposes.  It  was  easy  to  see 
how  Dandelion  Cottage  came  by  its  name 
at  first,  for  growing  all  about  it  were  great, 
fluffy,  golden  dandelions;  but  afterwards 
there  was  another  good  reason  why  the 
name  was  appropriate,  as  you  will  discovei 
shortly. 

The  cottage  stood  almost  directly  behind 
the  big  stone  church  in  Lakeville,  a  thriving 
Northern  Michigan  town,  and  did  not  show 
very  plainly  from  the  street  because  it  was 
so  small  by  contrast  with  everything  dse 


Dandelion  Cottage 


near  it.  This  was  fortunate,  because,  after 
the  Tuckers  had  moved  into  the  big  new  rec- 
tory, the  smaller  house  looked  decidedly  for- 
lorn and  deserted. 

"  We'll  leave  it  just  where  it  stands,"  the 
church  wardens  had  said,  many  years  pre- 
viously. "  It's  precisely  the  right  size  for 
Doctor  and  Mrs.  Gunn,  for  they  would 
rather  have  a  small  house  than  a  large  one. 
When  they  leave  us  and  we  are  selecting  an- 
other clergyman,  we'll  try  to  secure  one  with 
a  small  family." 

This  plan  worked  beautifully  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  It  succeeded  so  well,  in  fact, 
that  the  vestry  finally  forgot  to  be  cautious, 
and  when,  at  last,  it  secured  the  services  of 
Doctor  Tucker,  the  church  had  grown  so 
used  to  clergymen  with  small  families  that 
the  vestrymen  engaged  the  new  minister 
without  remembering  to  ask  if  his  family 
would  fit  Dandelion  Cottage. 

But  when  Doctor  Tucker,  and  Mrs.  Tuck- 
er and  eight  little  Tuckers,  some  on  foot  and 


Mr.  Black's  Terms 


some  in  baby  carriages,  arrived,  the  vestry- 
men regretted  this  oversight.  They  could 
see  at  a  glance  that  the  tiny  cottage  could 
never  hold  them  all. 

"We'll  just  have  to  build  a  rectory  on 
the  other  lot,"  said  Mr.  Black,  the  senior 
warden,  "  That's  all  there  is  about  it.  The 
cottage  is  all  out  of  repair,  anyway.  It 
wasn't  well  built  in  the  first  place,  and  the 
last  three  clergymen  have  complained  bitter- 
ly of  the  inconvenience  of  having  to  hold  up 
umbrellas  in  the  different  rooms  every  time 
it  rained.  Their  wives  objected  to  the  wall 
paper  and  to  being  obliged  to  keep  the  po- 
tatoes in  the  bedroom  closet.  It's  really 
time  we  had  a  new  rectory." 

"  It  certainly  is,"  returned  the  junior  war- 
den, "  and  we'll  all  have  to  take  turns  enter- 
taining all  the  little  Tuckers  that  there  isn't 
room  for  in  the  cottage  while  the  new  bouse 
is  getting  built." 

Seven  of  the  eight  little  Tuckers  were 
boys.     If  it  hadn't   been   for   Bettie  they 


Dandelion  Cottage 


would  all  have  been  boys,  but  Bettie  saved 
the  day.  She  was  a  slender  twelve-year- 
old-little  Bettie,  with  big  brown  eyes,  a  mop 
of  short  brown  curls  and  such  odd  clothes. 
Busy  Mrs.  Tucker  was  so  in  the  habit  of 
making  boys'  garments  that  she  could  not 
help  giving  a  boyish  cut  to  even  Bettie's 
dresses.  There  were  always  sailor  collars 
to  the  waists,  and  the  skirts  were  invariably 
kilted.  Besides  this,  the  little  girl  wore 
boys'  shoes. 

"  You  see,"  explained  Bettie,  who  was  a 
cheerful  little  body,  "  Tommy  has  to  take 
them  next  and  of  course  it  wouldn't  pay  to 
buy  shoes  for  just  one  girl." 

The  little  Tuckers  were  not  the  only  chil- 
dren in  the  neighbourhood.  Bettie  found  a 
bosom  friend  in  Dr.  Bennett's  Mabel,  who 
lived  next  door  to  the  rectory,  another  in 
Jeanie  Mapes,  who  lived  across  the  street, 
and  still  another  in  Marjory  Vale,  whose 
home  was  next  door  to  Dandelion  Cottage. 

Jean,  as  her  little  friends  best  liked  to  call 


Mr.  Black's  Terms 


her,  was  a  sweet-faced,  gentle-voiced  girl  of 
fourteen.  Mothers  of  other  small  girls  were 
always  glad  to  see  their  own  more  scatter- 
brained daughters  tucked  under  Jean's  lov- 
ing wing,  for  thoroughly-nice  Jean,  without 
being  in  the  least  priggish,  was  considered 
a  safe  and  desirable  companion.  It  doesn't 
always  follow  that  children  like  the  persons 
it  is  considered  best  for  them  to  like,  but  in 
Jean's  case,  both  parents  and  daughters 
agreed  that  Jean  was  not  only  safe  but  de- 
lightful—  the  charming  daughter  of  a 
charming  mother. 

Marjory,  a  year  younger  and  nearly  a 
head  shorter  than  Jean,  often  seemed  older. 
Outwardly,  she  was  a  sedate  small  person, 
slight,  blue-eyed,  graceful  and  very  fair. 
Her  manners  at  times  were  very  pleasing, 
her  self-possession  almost  remarkable;  this 
was  the  result  of  careful  training  by  a  con- 
scientious, but,  at  that  time,  a  sadly  unap- 
preciated maiden  aunt,  who  was  Marjory's 
sole  s^uardian.     There  were  moments,  how-« 


Dandelion  Cottage 


ever,  when  Marjory,  who  was  less  sedate 
than  she  appealed,  forgot  to  be  polite.  At 
such  times,  her  ways  were  apt  to  be  less 
pleasing  than  those  of  either  Betty  or 
Jean,  because  her  wit  was  nimbler,  hei 
tongue  sharper  and  her  heart  a  trifle  less 
tender.  Her  mother  had  died  when  Mar- 
jory was  only  a  few  weeks  old,  her 
father  had  lived  only  two  years  longer, 
and  the  rather  solitary  little  girl  had  missed 
much  of  the  warm  family  affection  that  had 
fallen  to  the  lot  of  her  three  more  fortunate 
friends.  Those  who  knew  her  well  found 
much  in  her  to  like,  but  among  her  school- 
mates there  were  girls  who  said  that  Mar- 
jory was  "stuck-up,"  affected  and  "too 
smart." 

Mabel,  the  fourth  in  this  little  quartette 
of  friends,  was  eleven,  large  for  her  age, 
and  young  for  her  years,  always  an  unfor- 
tunate combination  of  circumstances.  She 
was  intensely  human  and  therefore  liable  to 
«rr,  and,  it  may  be  said,  she  very  seldom 


Mr,  Black's  Terms 


missed  an  opportunity.  In  school  she  read 
with  a  tremendous  amount  of  expression  but 
mispronounced  half  the  words;  when  ques- 
tions were  asked,  she  waved  her  hand  tri- 
umphantly aloft  and  gave  an3^hing  but  the 
right  answer;  she  had  a  surprising  stock  of 
energy,  but  most  of  it  was  misdirected 
Warm-hearted,  generous,  heedless,  hot-tem- 
pered and  always  blundering,  she  was  some- 
thing of  a  trial  at  home  and  abroad ;  yet  no 
one  could  help  loving  her,  for  everybody 
realised  that  she  would  grow  up  some  day 
into  a  really  fine  woman,  and  that  all  that 
was  needed  in  the  meantime  was  considera- 
ble patience.  Rearing  Mabel  was  not  un- 
like the  task  of  bringing  up  a  St.  Bernard 
puppy.  Mrs.  Bennett  was  decidedly  glad 
to  note  the  growing  friendship  among  the 
four  girls  for  she  hoped  that  Mabel  would, 
in  time,  grow  dignified  and  sweet  like  Jean, 
thoughtful  and  tender  like  Bettie,  graceful 
and  prettily-mannered  like  Marjory.  But 
this  happy  result  had  yet  to  be  achieved. 


8  Dandelion  Cottage 

The  little  one-story  cottage,  too  much  out 
of  repair  to  be  rented,  stood  empty  and  neg- 
lected. To  most  persons  it  was  an  unattrac- 
tive spot  if  not  actually  an  eye-sore.  The 
steps  sagged  in  a  dispirited  way,  some  of 
the  windows  were  broken,  and  the  fence,  in 
sympathy  perhaps  with  the  house,  had  shed 
its  pickets  and  leaned  inward  with  a  dis- 
couraged, hopeless  air. 

But  Bettle  looked  at  the  little  cottage  long- 
ingly —  she  could  gaze  right  down  upon  it 
from  the  back  bedroom  window  —  a  great 
many  times  a  day.  It  didn't  seem  a  bit  too 
big  for  a  playhouse.  Indeed,  it  seemed  a 
great  pity  that  such  a  delightful  little  build- 
ing should  go  unoccupied  when  Bettie  and 
her  homeless  dolls  were  simply  suffering  for 
just  such  a  shelter. 

"Wouldn't  it  be  nice,"  said  Bettie,  one 
day  in  the  early  spring,  "  if  we  four  girls 
could  have  Dandelion  Cottage  for  our  very 
own?" 

"Wouldn't  it  be  sweet,"  mimicked  Mar- 


Mr.  Black's  Terms 


jory,  "  if  we  could  have  the  moon  and  about 
twenty  stars  to  play  jacks  with." 

"The  cottage  isn't  quite  so  far  away/* 
said  Jean.  "  It  would  be  just  lovely  to  have 
it  for  we  never  have  a  place  to  play  in  com- 
fortably." 

"  We're  generally  disturbing  grown-ups, 
I  notice,"  said  Marjory,  comically  imitating 
her  Aunty  Jane's  severest  manner.  "  A  lit- 
tle less  noise,  if  you  please.  Is  it  really 
necessary  to  laugh  so  much  and  so  often  ?  " 

"  Even  mother  gets  tired  of  us  some- 
times," confided  Jean.  "There  are  days 
when  no  one  seems  to  want  all  of  us  at 
once.*' 

"I  know  it,"  said  Bettie,  pathetically, 
*'  but  it's  worse  for  me  than  it  is  for  the  rest 
of  you.  You  have  your  rooms  and  nobody 
to  meddle  with  your  things.  I  no  sooner 
get  my  dolls  nicely  settled  in  one  corner  than 
I  have  to  move  them  into  another,  because 
the  babies  poke  their  eyes  out.  It's  dread- 
ful, too,  to  have  to  live  with  so  many  boys. 


lO  Dandelion  Cottage 

I  fixed  up  the  cunningest  playhouse  under 
the  clothes-reel  last  week  but  the  very  min- 
ute it  was  finished,  Rob  came  home  with  a 
horrid  porcupine  and  I  had  to  move  out  in 
a  hurry." 

"  Perhaps/'  suggested  Marjory,  "  we 
could  rent  the  cottage." 

"Who'd  pay  the  rent?"  demanded  Ma- 
bel. "  My  allowance  is  five  cents  a  week 
and  I  have  to  pay  a  fine  of  one  cent  every 
time  I'm  late  to  meals." 

"  How  much  do  you  have  left  ? "  asked 
Jeanie,  laughing. 

"  Not  a  cent.  I  was  seven  cents  in  debt 
at  the  end  of  last  week." 

"  I  get  two  cents  a  hundred  for  digging 
dandehons,"  said  Marjory,  "but  it  takes 
just  forever  to  dig  them,  and  ugh!  I  just 
hate  it." 

"  I  never  have  any  money  at  all,"  sighed 
Bettie.     "  You  see  there  are  so  many  of  us." 

"  Let's  go  peek  in  at  the  windows,"  sug- 
g'^sted  Mabel,  springing  up  from  the  grass. 


Mr.  Black's  Terms  1 1 


"  That  much  won't  cost  us  anything  at  any 
rate." 

Away  scampered  the  four  girls,  taking  a 
short  cut  through  Bettie's  back  yard. 

The  cottage  had  been  vacant  for  more 
than  a  year  and  had  not  improved  in  appear- 
ance. Rampant  vines  clambered  over  the 
windows  and  nowhere  else  in  town  were 
such  luxurious  weeds  as  grew  in  the  cottage 
yard.  Nowhere  else  were  there  such  mam- 
moth dandelions  or  such  prickly  burrs.  The 
girls  waded  fearlessly  through  them,  parted 
the  vines  and,  pressing  their  noses  against 
the  glass,  peered  into  the  cottage  parlour. 

"  What  a  nice,  square  little  room,"  said 
Marjory. 

"  I  don't  think  the  paper  is  very  pretty," 
said  Mabel. 

"  We  could  cover  most  of  the  spots  with 
pictures,"  suggested  practical  Marjory. 

**  It  looks  to  me  sort  of  spidery,"  said 
Mabel,  who  was  always  somewhat  pessi- 
mistic.    "  Probably  there's  rats,  too." 


12  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  I  know  how  to  stop  up  rat  holes,"  said 
Bettie,  who  had  not  lived  with  seven  broth- 
ers without  acquiring  a  number  of  useful 
accomplishments.  "  I'm  not  afraid  of  spi- 
ders—  that  is,  not  so  very  much." 

"  What  are  you  doing  here?  "  demanded 
a  gruff  voice  so  suddenly  that  everybody 
jumped. 

"  The  startled  girls  wheeled  about. 
There  stood  Bettie's  most  devoted  friend, 
the  senior  warden. 

"Oh!"  cried  Bettie,  "it's  only  Mr. 
Black." 

"Were  you  looking  for  something?" 
asked  Mr.  Black. 

"  Yes,"  said  Bettie.  "  We're  looking  for 
a  house.  We'd  like  to  rent  this  one  only 
we  haven't  a  scrap  of  money." 

"And  what,  in  the  name  of  common 
sense,  would  you  do  with  it  ?  " 

"  We  want  it  for  our  dolls,"  said  Bettie, 
turning  a  pair  of  big  pleading  brown  eyes 
upon   Mr.   Black.     "  You  see,   we  haven't 


Mr.  Black's  Terms  13 

any  place  to  play.  Marjory's  Aunty  Jane 
won't  let  her  cut  papers  in  the  house  so  she 
can't  have  any  paper  dolls,  and  I  can't  play 
any  place  because  I  have  so  many  brothers. 
They  tomahawk  all  my  dolls  when  they  play 
Indian,  shoot  them  with  beans  when  they 
play  soldiers  and  drown  them  all  when  they 
play  shipwreck.  Don't  you  think  we  might 
be  allowed  to  use  the  cottage  if  we'd  prom- 
ise to  be  very  careful  and  not  do  any  dam- 
age?" 

"  We'd  clean  it  up,"  offered  Marjory,  as 
an  inducement. 

"  We'd  mend  the  rat  holes,"  offered  Jean, 
looking  hopefully  at  Bettie. 

"  Would  you  dig  the  weeds  ?  "  demanded 
Mr.  Black. 

There  was  a  deep  silence.  The  girls 
looked  at  the  sea  of  dandelions  and  then  at 
one  another. 

"  Yes,"  said  Marjory,  finally  breaking  the 
silence.     "We'd  even  dig  the  weeds." 

"  Yes,"  echoed  the  others,   "  we'd  even 


14  Dandelion  Cottage 

dig  the  weeds  —  and  there's  just  millions  of 


em. 


"  Good !  "  said  Mr.  Black.  "  Now,  we'll 
all  sit  down  on  the  steps  and  I'll  tell  you 
what  we'll  do.  It  happens  that  the  Village 
Improvement  Society  has  just  notified  the 
vestry  that  the  weeds  on  this  lot  must  be 
removed  before  they  go  to  seed  —  the  neigh- 
bours have  complained  about  them.  It 
would  cost  the  parish  several  dollars  to  hire 
a  man  to  do  the  work,  and  we're  short  of 
funds  just  now.  Now,  if  you  four  girls 
will  pull  up  every  weed  in  this  place  before 
the  end  of  next  week  you  shall  have  the  use 
of  the  cottage  for  all  the  rest  of  the  summer 
in  return  for  your  services.  How  does  that 
strike  you  ?  " 

*'  Oh !  "  cried  Bettie,  throwing  her  arms 
about  Mr.  Black's  neck.  "Do  let  me  hug 
you.     Oh,  I'm  glad  —  glad ! " 

"There,  there!"  cried  stout  Mr.  Black, 
shaking  Bettie  off  and  dropping  her  where 
the  dandelions  grew  thickest,  "  I  didn't  say 


Mr.  Black's  Terms  15 

I  was  to  be  strangled  as  part  of  the  bargain. 
You'd  better  save  your  muscle  for  the  dan- 
delions. Remember,  youVe  got  to  pay  your 
rent  in  advance.  I  shan't  hand  over  the  key 
until  the  last  weed  is  dug." 

"  We'll  begin  this  minute ! "  cried  en- 
thusiastic Mabel.  "  I'm  going  straight 
home  for  a  knife." 


CHAPTER  II 

Ipa^ing  Cbe  IRcnt 

THIS  is  a  whopping  big  yard,"  said 
Mabel,  looking  disconsolately  at 
two  dandelions  and  one  burdock  in  the  bot- 
tom of  a  bushel  basket.  "  There  doesn't 
seem  to  be  any  place  to  begin." 

"  Fm  going  to  weed  out  a  place  big 
enough  to  sit  in,"  announced  Bettie. 
"Then  I'll  make  it  bigger  and  bigger  all 
around  me  in  every  direction  until  it  joins 
the  clearing  next  to  mine." 

"  I'm  a  soldier,"  said  Marjory,  brandish- 
ing a  trowel,  "  vanquishing  my  enemies. 
You  know  in  books  the  hero  always  battles 
single-handed  with  about  a  million  foes  and 
always  kills  them  all  and  everybody  lives 
happy  ever  after  —  zip !    There  goes  one !  '* 

"  I'm  a  Dioneer,"  said  Jean,  slashing  away 
i6 


Paying  The  Rent  17 

at  a  huge,  tough  burdock.  "  Fm  chopping 
down  the  forest  primeval  to  make  a  potato 
patch.  The  dandelions  are  skulking  Indians 
and  Fm  capturing  them  to  put  in  my  bushel* 
basket-prison." 

"  I'm  just  digging  weeds/*  said  prosaic 
Mabel,  "  and  I  don't  like  it." 

"  Neither  does  anybody  else,"  said  Mar- 
jory, "but  I  guess  having  the  cottage  will 
be  worth  it.  Just  pretend  it's  something 
else  and  then  you  won't  mind  it  so  much. 
Play  you're  digging  for  diamonds." 

"  1  can't,"  returned  Mabel,  hopelessly. 
"  I  haven't  any  imagination.  This  is  just 
plain  dirt  and  I  can't  make  myself  believe 
it's  anything  else." 

By  supper  time  the  cottage  yard  presented 
a  decidedly  disreptuable  appearance.  Be- 
fore the  weeds  had  been  disturbed  they  stood 
upright,  presenting  an  even  surface  of  green 
with  a  light  crest  of  dandelion  gold.  But 
4ftow  it  was  different.  Although  the  num- 
ber of  weeds  was  not  greatly  decreased,  the 


1 8  Dandelion  Cottage 

yard  looked  as  if,  indeed,  a  battle  had  been 
fought  there.  Mr.  Black,  passing  by  on  his 
way  to  town,  began  to  wonder  if  he  had 
been  quite  wise  in  turning  it  over  to  the 
girls. 

At  four  o'clock  the  following  morning, 
sleepy  Bettie  tumbled  out  of  bed  and  into 
her  clothes.  Then  she  slipped  quietly  down- 
stairs, out  of  doors,  through  the  convenient 
hole  in  the  back  fence  and  into  the  cottage 
yard.  She  had  been  digging  for  more  than 
an  hour  when  Jean,  rubbing  a  pair  of  sleepy 
eyes,  put  in  her  appearance. 

"  Oh !  "  cried  Jean,  disappointedly.  "  I 
meant  to  have  a  huge  bare  field  to  show  you 
when  you  came,  and  here  you  are  ahead  of 
me.     What  a  lot  you've  done !  " 

"Yes,"  assented  Bettie,  happily. 
"  There's  room  for  me  and  my  basket,  too, 
in  my  patch.  I'll  have  to  go  home  after  a 
while  to  help  dress  the  children." 

Young  as  she  was  —  she  was  only  twelve 
«—  Bettie  was  a  most  helpful  young  person^ 


Paying  The  Rent  19 

It  is  hard  to  imagine  what  Mrs.  Tucker 
would  have  done  without  her  cheerful  little 
daughter.  Bettie  always  spoke  of  the  boys 
as  "  The  children,"  and  she  helped  her 
mother  darn  their  stockings,  sew  on  their 
buttons  and  sort  out  their  collars.  The  care 
of  the  family  baby,  too,  fell  to  her  lot. 

The  boys  were  good  boys,  but  they  were 
boys.  They  were  willing  to  do  errands  or 
to  pile  wood  or  to  carry  out  ashes  but  none 
of  them  ever  thought  of  doing  one  of  these 
things  without  first  being  told  —  sometimes 
they  had  to  be  told  a  great  many  times.  It 
was  different  with  Bettie.  If  Tom  ate 
crackers  on  the  front  porch,  it  was  Bettie 
that  ran  for  the  broom  to  brush  up  the 
crumbs.  If  the  second  baby  but  one  needed 
his  face  washed  —  and  it  seemed  to  Bettie 
that  there  never  was  a  time  when  he  didn't 
need  it  washed  —  it  was  Bettie  that  attended 
to  it.  If  the  cat  looked  hungry  it  was  Bet- 
tie who  gave  her  a  saucer  of  milk.  Dick's 
rabbits   and   Rob's   porcupine  would  have 


20  Dandelion  Cottage 

starved  if  Bettie  had  not  fed  them  and  Don- 
ald's dog  knew  that  if  no  one  else  remem- 
bered his  bone  kind  Bettie  would  bear  it  in 
mind. 

The  boys'  legs  were  round  and  sturdy, 
but  Bettie's  were  very  much  like  pipe  stems. 

"I  don't  have  time  to  get  fat,"  Bettie 
would  say.  "  But  you  don't  need  to  worry 
about  me.  I  think  I'm  the  healthiest  person 
in  the  house.  At  least  I'm  the  only  one  that 
hasn't  had  to  have  breakfast  in  bed  this 
week." 

Neither  Marjory  nor  Mabel  appeared  dur- 
ing the  morning  to  dig  their  share  of  the 
weeds,  but  when  school  was  out  that  after- 
noon they  were  all  on  hand  with  their  bas- 
kets. 

"  I  had  to  stay,"  said  Mabel,  who  was  the 
last  to  arrive.  "  I  missed  two  words  in 
spelling." 

"  What  were  they  ?  "  asked  Marjory. 

"  *  Parachute '  and  '  dandelion  ' —  I  hate 
dandelions,    anyway.     I   don't  know  whal 


Paying  The  Rent  2i 


parachutes  are,  but  if  they're  any  sort  of 
weeds  I  hate  them,  too." 

The  girls  laughed.  Mabel  always  looked 
on  the  gloomiest  side  of  things  and  always 
grumbled.  She  seemed  to  thrive  on  it, 
however,  for  she  was  built  very  much  like  a 
barrel  and  her  cheeks  were  like  a  pair  of 
round  red  apples.  She  was  always  honest, 
if  a  little  too  frank  in  expressing  her  opin- 
ions, and  the  girls  liked  her  in  spite  of  her 
blunt  ways.  She  was  the  youngest  of  the 
quartette,  being  only  eleven. 

"  There  doesn't  seem  to  be  much  grass 
left  after  the  weeds  are  out,"  said  Bettie, 
surveying  the  bare,  sandy  patch  she  had 
made. 

"  This  has  always  been  a  weedy  old 
place,"  replied  Jean.  "  I  think  the  whole 
neighbourhood  will  feel  obliged  to  us  if  we 
ever  get  the  lot  cleared.  Perhaps  our  land- 
lord will  plant  grass  seed.  It  would  be  fine 
to  have  a  lawn." 

"Perhaps,"  said  Marjory,  "he'll  let  us 


22  Dandelion  Cottage 

have  some  flower  beds.  Wouldn't  it  be 
lovely  to  have  nasturtiums  running  right  up 
the  sides  of  the  house?  " 

"They'd  be  lovely  among  the  vines," 
agreed  Bettie.  "  I've  some  poppy  seeds  that 
we  might  plant  in  a  long  narrow  bed  by  the 
fence." 

"  There  are  hundreds  of  little  pansy 
plants  coming  up  all  over  our  yard,"  said 
Jean.  "  We  might  make  a  little  round  bed 
of  them  right  here  where  I'm  sitting.  What 
are  you  going  to  plant  in  your  bed,  Mabel  ?  " 

"  Butter-beans,"  said  that  practical  young 
person,  promptly. 

"Well,"  said  Bettie,  with  a  long  sigh, 
"  we'll  have  to  work  faster  than  this  or  sum* 
mer  will  be  over  before  we  have  a  chance  to 
plant  anything.  This  is  the  biggest  little 
yard  I  ever  did  see." 

For  a  time  there  was  silence.  Marjory, 
the  soldier,  fell  upon  her  foes  with  renewed 
vigour,  and  soon  had  an  entire  regiment  in 
durance  vile.    Jean,  the  pioneer,  fell  upon 


Paying  The  Rent  23 

the  forest  with  so  much  energy  that  tcs 
speedy  extermination  was  threatened.  Ma- 
bel seized  upon  the  biggest  and  toughest  bur- 
dock she  could  find  and  pulled  with  both 
hands  and  all  her  might,  until,  with  a  sharp 
crack,  the  root  suddenly  parted  and  Mabel, 
very  much  to  her  own  surprise,  turned  a 
back  somersault  and  landed  in  Bettie's 
basket. 

"  Hi  there !  "  cried  a  voice  from  the  road. 
"  How  are  you  youngsters  getting  along?  " 

The  girls  jumped  to  their  feet  —  all  but 
Mabel,  who  was  still  wedged  tightly  in  Bet- 
tie's  basket.  There  was  Mr.  Black,  with  his 
elbows  on  the  fence,  and  with  him  was  the 
president  of  the  Village  Improvement  So- 
ciety ;  both  were  smiling  broadly. 

"Sick  of  your  bargain?"  asked  Mr. 
Black. 

The  four  girls  shook  their  heads  emphat 
ically. 

"Hard  work?" 

Four  heads  bobbed  up  and  down. 


24  Dandelion  Cottage 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Black,  encouragingly, 
"youVe  made  considerable  headway  to- 
day." 

"Where  are  you  putting  the  weeds," 
asked  the  president  of  the  Village  Improve- 
ment Society. 

"  On  the  back  porch  in  a  piano  box,"  said 
Bettie.  "  We  had  a  big  pile  of  them  last 
night  but  they  shrunk  like  everything  before 
morning.  If  they  do  that  every  time  it 
won't  be  necessary  for  Mabel  to  jump  on 
them  to  press  them  down." 

"  Let  me  know  when  you  have  a  wagon 
load,"  said  Mr.  Black.  "I'll  have  them 
hauled  away  for  you." 

For  the  rest  of  the  week  the  girls  worked 
early  and  late.  They  began  almost  at  day- 
light and  the  mosquitoes  found  them  still 
digging,  at  dusk. 

By  Thursday  night,  only  scattered  patches 
of  weeds  remained.  The  little  diggers  could 
hardly  tear  themselves  away,  when  they 
could  no  longer  find  the  weeds  because  of 


Paying  The  Rent  25 

the  gathering  darkness.  Now  that  the  task 
was  so  nearly  completed  it  seemed  such  a 
waste  of  time  to  eat  and  sleep. 

Bettie  was  up  earlier  than  ever  the  next 
morning,  and  with  one  of  the  boys'  spades 
had  loosened  the  soil  around  some  of  the 
very  worst  patches  before  any  of  the  other 
girls  appeared. 

By  five  o'clock  that  night  the  last  weed 
was  dug.  Conscientious  Bettie  went  around 
the  yard  a  dozen  times,  but  however  hard 
she  might  search,  not  a  single  remaining 
weed  could  she  discover. 

"  Good  work,"  said  Jean,  balancing  her 
empty  basket  on  her  head. 

"  It  seems  too  good  to  be  true,"  said  Bet- 
tie, "  but  think  of  it,  girls,  the  rent  is  paid ! 
It's  most  time  for  Mr.  Black  to  go  by.  Let's 
watch  for  him  from  the  doorstep  —  our  own 
precious  doorstep/' 

"  It  needs  scrubbing,"  said  Mabel.  "  Be- 
sides, it  isn't  ours,  yet.  Perhaps  Mr.  Black 
has  changed  his  mind.  Some  grown-up 
folks  have  awfully  changeable  minds." 


26  Dandelion  Cottage 


"  Oh !  "  gasped  Marjory.  "  Wouldn't  it 
be  perfectly  dreadful  if  he  had !  " 

It  seemed  to  the  little  girls,  torn  between 
doubt  and  expectation,  that  Mr.  Black  was 
strangely  indifferent  to  the  calls  of  hunger 
that  night.  Was  he  never  going  home  to 
dinner?    Was  he  never  coming? 

"  Perhaps,"  suggested  Jean,  "  he  has  gone 
out  of  town." 

**  Or  forgotten  us,"  said  Marjory. 

"Or  died,"  said  Mabel,  dolefully. 

"No-no,''  cried  Bettie.  "There  he 
is;  he's  coming  around  the  corner  now  —  I 
can  see  him.     Let's  run  to  meet  him." 

The  girls  scampered  down  the  street. 
Bettie  seized  one  hand,  Mabel  the  other, 
Marjory  and  Jean  danced  along  ahead  of 
him  and  everybody  talked  at  once.  Thus 
escorted,  Mr.  Black  approached  the  cottage 
lot. 

"Well,  I  declare,"  said  Mr.  Black. 
"You  haven't  left  so  much  as  a  blade  of 
grass.     Do  you  think  you  could  sow  some 


Paying  The  Rent  27 

grass  seed  if  I  have  the  ground  made  ready 
for  it?" 

The  girls  thought  they  could.  Bettie 
dmidly  suggested  nasturtiums. 

"  Flower  beds  too  ?  Why,  of  course," 
said  Mr.  Black.  "  Vegetables  as  well  if  you 
like.  You  can  have  a  regular  farm  and 
grow  fairy  bean-stalks  and  Cinderella  pump- 
kins if  you  want  to.  And  now,  since  the 
rent  seems  to  be  paid,  I  suppose  there  is 
nothing  left  for  me  to  do  but  to  hand  over 
the  key.  Here  it  is,  Mistress  Bettie,  and 
I'm  sure  I  couldn't  have  a  nicer  lot  of  ten- 
ants." 


CHAPTER  III 

Cbc  tenants  XTal^e  ipo66e66toti 

**/"\  UR  own  house  —  think  of  it !  "  criea 

V^  Bettie,  turning  the  key.  "  Push, 
somebody;  the  door  sticks.  There!  It's 
open." 

"  Ugh !  "  said  Mabel,  drawing  back  has- 
tily, "  it's  awfully  dark  and  stuffy  in  there. 
I  guess  I  won't  go  in  just  yet  —  it  smells  so 
dead-ratty." 

"  It's  been  shut  up  so  long,"  explained 
Jean.  "  Wait.  I'll  pull  some  of  the  vines 
back  from  this  window.  There !  Can  you 
see  better?" 

"  Lots,"  said  Bettie.  "  This  is  the  par- 
lour,  girls,  but  oh,  what  raggedy  paper. 
We'll  need  lots  of  pictures  to  cover  all  the 
holes  and  spots." 

"We'd  better  clean  it  all  first,"  advised 


The  Tenants  Take  Possession    29 

sensible  Jean.     "  The  windows  are  covered 
with  dust  and  the  floor  is  just  black." 

"  This,"  said  Marjory,  opening  a  door, 
"  must  be  the  dining-room.  Oh !  What  a 
cunning  little  corner  cupboard  —  just  the 
place  for  our  dishes." 

"  You  mean  it  would  be  if  we  had  any," 
said  Mabel.     "  Mine  are  all  smashed." 

"Pooh!"  said  Jean.  "We  don't  mean 
doll  things  —  we  want  real,  grown-up  ones. 
Why,  what  a  cunning  little  bedroom." 

"  There's  one  off  the  parlour,  too,"  said 
Marjory,  "and  it's  even  cunninger  than 
this." 

"  My !  what  a  horrid  place ! "  exclaimed 
Mabel,  poking  an  inquisitive  nose  into  an- 
other unexplored  room,  and  as  hastily  with- 
drawing that  offended   feature.     "  Mercy 
I'm  all  over  spider  webs." 

"  That's  the  kitchen,"  explained  Bettie. 
"  Most  of  the  plaster  has  fallen  down  and 
it's  rained  in  a  good  deal.  But  here's  a 
good  stovepipe  hole  ^nd  such  a  cunning  cup- 


3©  Dandelion  Cottage 

board  built  into  the  wall.  What  have  you 
found,  Jean  ?  " 

"Just  a  pantry,"  said  Jean,  holding  up 
a  pair  of  black  hands,  "  and  lots  of  dust. 
There  isn't  a  clean  spot  in  the  house." 

"  So  much  the  better,"  said  Bettie,  whose 
clouds  always  had  a  silver  lining.  "  We'U- 
have  just  that  much  more  fun  cleaning  up. 
I'll  tell  you  what  let's  do  —  and  we've  all 
day  to-morrow  to  do  it  in.  We'll  just  reg- 
ularly clean  house  —  I've  always  wanted  to 
clean  house." 

"  Me  too,"  cried  Mabel,  enthusiastically. 
"  We'll  bring  just  oceans  of  water " 

"There's  water  here,"  interrupted  Jean, 
turning  a  faucet.  "  Water  and  a  pretty 
good  sink.     The  water  runs  out  all  right." 

"  That's  good,"  said  Bettie.  "  We  must 
each  bring  a  broom,  and  soap " 

"And  rags,"  suggested  Jean. 

"  And  papers  for  the  shelves,"  added 
Marjory. 

"  And  wear  our  oldest  clothes,"  said  Bet- 
tie. 


The  Tenants  Take  Possession    3 1 

**  Oo  —  ow,  wow !  "  squealed  Mabel. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?  "  asked  the  girls, 
rushing  into  the  pantry. 

"Spiders  and  mice/'  said  Mabel.  "I 
just  poked  my  head  into  the  cupboard  and 
a  mouse  jumped  out.  I'm  all  spiderwebby 
again,  too." 

"  Well,  there  won't  be  any  spiders  by  to- 
morrow night,"  said  Bettie,  consolingly, 
*'  or  any  mice  either,  if  somebody  will  bring 
a  cat.  Now  let's  go  home  to  supper  —  I'm 
hungry  as  a  bear." 

"  Everybody  remember  to  wear  her  oldest 
clothes,"  admonished  Jean,  "  and  to  bring  a 
broom." 

"  I'll  tie  the  key  to  a  string  and  wear  it 
around  my  neck  night  and  day,"  said  Bettie, 
locking  the  door  carefully,  when  the  girls 
were  outside.  "  Aren't  we  going  to  have  a 
perfectly  glorious  summer  ?  " 

When  Mr.  Black,  on  the  way  to  his  office 
the  next  morning,  met  his  four  little  friends, 
he  did  not  recognise  them.     Jean,  who  was 


32  Dandelion  Cottage 

fourteen,  and  tall  for  her  age,  wore  one  of 
her  mother's  calico  wrappers  tied  in  at  the 
waist  by  the  strings  of  the  cook's  biggest 
apron.  Marjory,  in  the  much  shrunken 
gown  of  a  previous  summer,  had  her  golden 
curls  tucked  away  under  the  housemaid's 
sweeping  cap.  Bettle  appeared  in  her  very 
oldest  skirt  surmounted  by  an  exceedingly 
ragged  jacket  and  cap  discarded  by  one  of 
her  brothers;  while  Mabel,  with  her  usual 
enthusiasm,  looked  like  a  veritable  rag-bag. 
When  Bettie  had  unlocked  the  door  —  she 
had  slept  all  night  with  the  key  in  her  hand 
to  make  certain  that  it  would  not  escape  — 
the  girls  filed  in. 

"  I  know  how  to  handle  a  broom  as  well 
as  anybody,"  said  Mabel,  giving  a  mighty 
sweep  and  raising  such  a  cloud  of  dust  that 
the  four  housecleaners  were  obliged  to  flee 
out  of  doors  to  keep  from  strangling. 

"  Phew ! "  said  Jean,  when  she  had 
stopped  coughing.  "  I  guess  we'll  have  to 
take  it  out  with  a  shovel.  The  dust  mUwSt 
be  an  inch  thick." 


The  Tenants  Take  Possession   33 

"  Wait,"  cried  Marjory,  darting  off,  ''  V\\ 
get  Aunty's  sprinkling  can;  then  the  stuff 
won't  fly  so." 

After  that  the  sweeping  certainly  went 
better.     Then  came  the  dusting. 

"  It  really  looks  very  well,"  said  Bettie, 
surveying  the  result  with  her  head  on  one 
side  and  an  air  of  housewifely  wisdom  tha/* 
would  have  been  more  impressive  if  her 
nose  hadn't  been  perfectly  black  with  soot. 
"  It  certainly  does  look  better,  but  I'm  afraid 
you  girls  have  most  of  the  dust  on  your 
faces.  I  don't  see  how  you  managed  to  do 
it  —  just  look  at  Mabel." 

"Just  look  at  yourself! "  retorted  Mabel, 
indignantly.  "  You've  got  the  dirtiest  face 
I  ever  saw." 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Jean,  gently.  "  I 
guess  we're  all  about  alike.  I've  wiped  all 
the  dust  off  the  walls  of  this  parlour.  Now 
I'm  going  to  wash  the  windows  and  the 
woodwork,  and  after  that  I'm  going  to 
^crub  the  floor," 


34  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  Do  you  know  how  to  scrub  ? "  asked 
Marjory. 

"  No,  but  I  guess  I  can  learn.  There ! 
Doesn't  that  pane  look  as  if  a  really,  truly 
housemaid  had  washed  it  ?  " 

"O  Mabel!  Do  look  out!"  cried  Mar- 
jory. 

But  the  warning"  came  too  late.  Mabel 
stepped  on  the  slippery  bar  of  soap  and  sat 
down  hard  in  a  pan  of  water,  splashing  it 
in  every  direction.  For  a  moment  Mabel 
looked  decidedly  cross,  but  when  she  got  up 
and  looked  at  the  tin  basin,  she  began  to 
laugh. 

"  That's  a  funny  way  to  empty  a  basin, 
isn't  it  ?  "  she  said.  "  There  isn't  a  drop  of 
water  left  in  it." 

"Well,  don't  try  it  again,"  said  Jean. 
"That's  Mrs.  Tucker's  basin  and  you've 
smashed  it  flat.  You  should  learn  to  sit 
down  less  suddenly." 

"  And,"  said  Marjory,  "  to  be  more  care- 
ful in  your  choice  of  seats  —  we'll  have  tc 


The  Tenants  Take  Possession    35 

take  up  a  collection  and  buy  Mrs.  Tucker  a 
new  basin,  or  she'll  be  afraid  to  lend  us  any- 
thing more." 

The  girls  ran  home  at  noon  for  a  hasty 
luncheon.  Rested  and  refreshed,  they  all 
returned  promptly  to  their  housecleaning. 

Nobody  wanted  to  brush  out  the  kitchen 
cupboard.  It  was  not  only  dusty,  but  full 
of  spider  webs  and  worst  of  all,  the  spiders 
themselves  seemed  very  much  at  home. 
The  girls  left  the  back  door  open,  hoping 
that  the  spiders  would  run  out  of  their  own 
accord.  Apparently,  however,  the  spiders 
felt  no  need  of  fresh  air.  Bettie,  without  a 
word  to  anyone,  ran  home,  returning  a  mo- 
ment later  with  her  brother  Bob's  old  tame 
crow,  blinking  solemnly  from  her  shoulder. 
Bettie  placed  the  great,  black  bird  on  the 
cupboard  shelf  and  in  a  very  few  moments 
every  spider  had  vanished  down  his  greedy 
throat. 

'*  He  just  loves  them,''*  said  Bettie. 

**  How  funny,"  said  Mabel.     "  Who  ever 


36  Dandelion  Cottage 

heard  of  getting  a  crow  to  help  clean  house. 
I  wish  he  could  scrub  floors  as  well  as  he 
clears  out  cupboards." 

The  scrubbing,  indeed,  looked  anything 
but  an  inviting  task.  Jean  succeeded  fairly- 
well  with  the  parlour  floor,  but  declared 
when  that  was  finished  that  her  wrists  were 
30  tired  that  she  couldn't  hold  the  scrubbing- 
brush  another  moment.  Marjory  and  Bet- 
tie  together  scrubbed  the  floor  of  the  tiny 
dining-room.  Mabel  made  a  brilliant  suc- 
cess of  one  of  the  little  bedrooms,  but  only, 
the  other  girls  said,  by  accidentally  tipping 
over  a  pail  of  clean  water  upon  it,  thereby 
rinsing  off  a  thick  layer  of  soap.  Then 
Jean,  having  rested  for  a  little  while,  fin- 
ished the  remaining  bedroom  and  Marjory 
scoured  the  pantry  shelves. 

The  kitchen  floor  was  rough  and  very 
dirty.  Nobody  wanted  the  task  of  scrub- 
bing it.  The  tired  girls  leaned  against  the 
wall,  looked  at  the  floor  and  then  at  one 
another. 


The  Tenants  Take  Possession    37 

"  Let's  leave  it  until  Monday/'  said  Ma- 
bel, who  looked  very  much  as  if  the  others 
had  scrubbed  the  floor  with  her.  "  I've  had 
all  the  housecleaning  I  want  for  one  day." 

"  Oh  no,"  pleaded  Bettie.  "  Everything 
else  is  done.  Just  think  how  lovely  it  would 
be  to  go  home  to-night  with  all  the  disagree- 
able part  finished.  We  could  begin  to  move 
in  Monday  if  we  only  had  the  house  all 
clean." 

**  Couldn't  we  cover  the  dirtiest  places 
with  pieces  of  old  carpet?  "  demanded  Ma- 
bel. 

"  Oh,  what  dreadful  housekeeping  that 
would  be,"  said  Marjory. 

"  Yes,"  said  Jean,  "  we  must  have  every 
bit  of  it  nice.  Perhaps  if  we  sit  on  the 
doorstep  and  rest  for  a  few  moments  we'lJ 
•^eel  more  like  scrubbing." 

The  tired  girls  sat  in  a  row  on  the  edge 
of  the  low  porch.  They  were  all  rather 
glad  that  the  next  day  would  be  Sunday,  for 
between  the  dandelions  and  the  dust  they 
had  had  a  very  busy  week. 


38  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  Why !  "  said  Bettie,  suddenly  brighten- 
ing. "  We're  going  to  have  a  visitor,  I  do 
believe." 

"  Hi  there ! "  said  Mr.  Black,  turning  in 
at  the  gate.  "  I  smell  soap.  Houseclean- 
ing  all  done?  " 

"  All,"  said  Bettie,  wearily,  "  except  the 
kitchen  floor,  and  oh!  we're  so  tired.  I'm 
afraid  we'll  have  to  leave  it  until  Monday, 
but  we  just  hate  to." 

"  Too  tired  to  eat  peanuts  ?  "  asked  Mr, 
Black,  handing  Bettie  a  huge  paper  bag. 
**  Stay  right  here  on  the  doorstep,  all  of  you, 
and  eat  every  one  of  these  nuts.  I'll  look 
around  and  see  what  you've  been  doing— ^ 
I'm  sure  there  can't  be  much  dirt  left  inside 
when  there's  so  much  on  your  faces." 

It  seemed  a  pity  that  Mr.  Black,  who  liked 
little  girls  so  well,  should  have  no  children  of 
his  own.  A  great  many  years  before  Bet- 
tie's  people  had  moved  to  Lakeville,  he  had 
had  one  sister ;  and  at  another  almost  equal- 
ly remote  period  he  had  possessed  one  little 


The  Tenants  Take  Possession    39 

daughter,  a  slender,  narrow-chested  little 
maid,  with  great,  pathetic  brown  eyes,  so 
like  Bettie's  that  Mr.  Black  was  startled 
when  Dr.  Tucker's  little  daughter  had  first 
smiled  at  him  from  the  Tucker  doorway, 
for  the  senior  warden's  little  girl  had  lived 
to  be  only  six  years  old.  This,  of  course, 
was  the  secret  of  Mr.  Black's  affection  for 
Bettie. 

Mr.  Black,  who  was  a  moderately  stout, 
gray-haired  man  of  fifty-five,  with  kind, 
dark  eyes  and  a  strong,  rugged,  smooth- 
shaven  countenance,  had  a  great  deal  of 
money,  a  beautiful  home  perched  on  the 
brow  of  a  green  hill  overlooking  the  lake, 
and  a  silk  hat.  This  last  made  a  great  im- 
pression on  the  children,  for  silk  hats  were 
seldom  worn  in  Lakeville.  Mr.  Black 
looked  very  nice  indeed  in  his,  when  he  wore 
it  to  church  Sunday  morning,  but  Bettie  felt 
more  at  home  with  him  when  he  sat  bare- 
headed on  the  rectory  porch,  with  his  short, 
crisp,  thick  gray  hair  tossed  by  the  south 
wind. 


4-0  Dandelion  Cottage 

Besides  these  possessions,  Mr.  Black 
owned  a  garden  on  the  sheltered  hillside 
where  wonderful  roses  grew  as  they  would 
grow  nowhere  else  in  Lakeville.  This  was 
fortunate  because  Mr.  Black  loved  roses, 
and  spent  much  time  poking  about  among 
them  with  trowel  and  pruning  shears. 
Then,  there  were  shelves  upon  shelves  of 
books  in  the  big,  dingy  library,  which  was 
the  one  room  that  the  owner  of  the  large 
house  really  lived  in.  A  public-spirited 
man,  Mr.  Black  had  a  wide  circle  of  ac- 
quaintances and  a  few  warm  friends;  but 
with  all  his  possessions,  and  in  spite  of  a 
jovial,  cheerful  manner  in  company,  his 
dark,  rather  stern  face,  as  Bettie  had  very 
quickly  discovered,  was  sad  when  he  sat 
alone  in  his  pew  in  church.  He  had  really 
nothing  in  the  world  to  love  but  his  books 
and  his  roses.  It  was  evident,  to  anyone 
that  had  time  to  think  about  it,  that  kind 
Mr.  Black,  whose  wife  had  died  so  many 
years  previously  that  only  the  oldest  towns- 


The  Tenants  Take  Possession    41 

people  could  remember  that  he  had  had  a 
wife,  was,  in  spite  of  his  comfortable  cir- 
cumstances, a  very  lonely  man,  and  that,  as 
he  grew  older,  he  felt  his  loneliness  more 
keenly.  There  were  others  besides  Bettie 
who  realised  this,  but  it  was  not  an  easy 
matter  to  offer  sympathy  to  Mr.  Black  — 
there  was  a  dignity  about  him  that  repelled 
anything  that  looked  like  pity.  Bettie  was 
the  one  person  who  succeeded,  without  giv- 
ing offense,  in  doing  this  difficult  thing,  but 
Bettie  did  it  unconsciously,  without  in  the 
least  knowing  that  she  had  accomplished  it 
and  this,  of  course,  was  another  reason  for 
the  strong  friendship  between  Mr.  Black 
and  Bettie. 

The  girls  found  the  peanuts  decidedly  re- 
freshing; their  unusual  exercise  had  given 
them  astonishing  appetites. 

"  I  wonder,"  said  Bettie,  some  ten  min- 
utes later,  when  the  paper  bag  was  almost 
empty,  "  what  Mr.  Black  is  doing  in  there.*' 

"  I  think,  from  the  swishing,  swushing 


42  Dandelion  Cottage 

sounds  I  hear,"  said  Jean,  "  that  Mr.  Black 
must  be  scrubbing  the  kitchen." 

"  What!  "  gasped  the  girls. 

"  Come  and  see,''  said  Jean,  stealing  in  on 
tiptoe. 

There,  sure  enough,  was  stout  Mr.  Black 
dipping  a  broom  every  now  and  then  into  a 
pail  of  soapy  water  and  vigorously  sweeping 
the  floor  with  it. 

"  I  think,"  whispered  Mabel,  ruefully, 
"  that  that's  mother's  best  broom." 

"  Never  mind,"  consoled  Jean.  "  You 
can  take  mine  home  if  you  think  she'll  care. 
It's  really  mine  because  I  bought  it  when 
we  had  that  broom  drill  in  the  sixth  grade. 
It's  been  hanging  on  my  wall  ever  since." 

"  Hi  there !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Black,  who, 
looking  up  suddenly,  had  discovered  the 
smiling  girls  in  the  doorway.  "  You  didn't 
know  I  could  scrub,  did  you?" 

Mr.  Black,  quite  regardless  of  his  spot- 
less cuffs,  and  his  polished  shoes,  drew  a 
bucket  of  fresh  water  and  dashed  it  over 


The  Tenants  Take  Possession   43 

the  floor,  sweeping  the  flood  out  of  doors 
and  down  the  back  steps. 

"There,"  said  Mr.  Black,  standing  the 
broom  in  the  corner,  "  if  there's  a  cleaner 
house  in  town  than  this,  I  don't  know  where 
you'll  find  it.  In  return  for  scrubbing  this 
kitchen  of  course  I  shall  expect  you  to  in- 
vite me  to  dinner  when  you  get  to  house- 
keeping." 

"  We  will !  We  do !  "  shouted  the  girls, 
"  and  we'll  cook  every  single  thing  our- 
selves." 

"  I  don't  know  that  I'll  insist  on  that,"  re- 
turned Mr.  Black,  teasingly,  "but  I  shan't 
let  you  forget  about  the  dinner." 


CHAPTER  IV 
3Furn(6bing  tibe  Cottage 

AFTER  tea  that  Saturday  night  fouf 
tired  but  spotlessly  clean  little  girls 
sat  on  Jean's  doorstep,  making  plans  for  the 
coming  week. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  for  a  stove?  '* 
asked  Mrs.  Mapes. 

"  I  have  a  toy  one/'  replied  Mabel,  "  but 
it  has  only  one  leg  and  it  always  smokes. 
Besides,  I  can't  find  it" 

"  I  have  a  little  box  stove  that  the  boys 
used  to  have  in  their  camp,"  said  Mrs. 
Mapes.  "It  has  three  good  legs  and  *t 
doesn't  smoke  at  all.  If  you  want  it,  and 
if  you'll  promise  to  be  very  careful  about 
your  fire,  I'll  have  one  of  the  boys  set  it  up 
for  you." 

"That  would   be   lovely,"   said   Bettie, 

44 


Furnishing  The  Cottage      45 

gratefully.  "  Mamma  has  given  me  four 
saucers  and  a  syrup  jug,  and  I  have  a  few 
pieces  left  of  quite  a  large  sized  doll's  tea 
set." 

"We  have  an  old  rug,"  said  Marjory, 
"that  Fm  almost  sure  I  can  have  for  the 
parlour  floor  and  I  have  two  small  rocking 
chairs  of  my  own." 

"  There's  a  lot  of  old  things  in  our  gar- 
ret," said  Mabel,  "three-legged  tables,  and 
chairs  with  the  seats  worn  out.  I  know 
mother'll  let  us  take  them." 

"Well,"  said  Bettie,  "take  everything 
you  have  to  the  cottage  Monday  afternoon 
after  school.  Bring  all  the  pictures  you  can 
to  cover  the  walls  and " 

"Hark!"  said  Mrs.  Mapes.  "I  thinic 
somebody  is  calling  Bettie." 

"  Oh  my !  "  said  Bettie,  springing  to  her 
feet,  "  this  is  bath  night  and  I  promised  to 
bathe  the  twins.     I  must  go  this  minute." 

"  I  think  Bettie  is  sweet,"  said  Jean. 
**  Mr.  Black  would  never  have  given  us  the 


46  Dandelion  Cottage 

cottage  if  he  hadn't  been  so  fond  of  Bettie; 
but  she  doesn't  put  on  any  airs  at  all.  She 
makes  us  feel  as  if  it  belonged  to  all  of  us." 

"  Bettie  is  a  sweet  little  girl,"  said  Mrs. 
Mapes,  "  but  she's  far  too  energetic  for  such 
a  little  body.  You  mustn't  let  her  do  all 
the  work." 

"Oh,  we  don't!"  exclaimed  Mabel, 
grandly.  "  Why,  what  are  you  laughing  at, 
Marjory?" 

"Oh  nothing,"  said  Marjory.  "I  just 
happened  to  remember  how  you  scrubbed 
that  bedroom  floor." 

From  four  to  six  on  Monday  afternoon, 
the  little  housekeepers,  heavily  burdened 
each  time  with  their  goods  and  chattels, 
made  many  small  journeys  between  their 
homes  and  Dandelion  Cottage.  The  par- 
lour was  soon  piled  high  with  furniture  that 
was  all  more  or  less  battered. 

"Dear  me,"  said  Jean,  pausing  at  the 
'door  with  an  armful  of  carpet.  "  How  am 
I  ever  to  get  in?    Hadn't  we  better  straight- 


Furnishing  The  Cottage       47 

en  out  what  we  have  before  we  bring  any- 
thing- more  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Bettie.  "  I  wouldn't  be  sur- 
prised if  we  had  almost  enough  for  two 
houses.     I'm  sure  IVe  seen  six  clocks." 

"  Thaf  s  only  one  for  each  room,"  said 
Mabel.  "  Besides,  none  of  the  four  that  / 
brought  will  go." 

"  Neither  will  my  two,"  said  Marjory, 
giggling. 

"  We  might  call  this  *  The  House  of  the 
Tickless  Clocks,' "  suggested  Jean. 

"Or  of  the  grindless  coffee-mill,"  gig- 
gled Marjory. 

"  Or  of  the  talkless  telephone,"  added 
Mabel.  "  I  brought  over  an  old  telephone 
box  so  we  could  pretend  we  had  a  tele- 
phone." 

There  were  still  several  things  lacking 
\vhen  the  children  had  found  places  for  all 
their  crippled  belongings.  They  had  no 
touch  for  the  sofa  pillows  Mabel  had 
brought,  but  Bettie  converted  two  wooden 


48  Dandelion  Cottage 

boxes  and  a  long  board  into  an  admirable 
cosey  corner.  She  even  upholstered  this 
sadly  misnamed  piece  of  furniture  with  the 
burlaps  and  excelsior  that  had  been  packed 
about  her  father's  new  desk,  but  it  still  need- 
ed a  cover.  The  windows  lacked  curtains, 
the  girls  had  only  one  fork  and  their  cup- 
board was  so  distressingly  empty  that  it 
rivaled  Mother  Hubbard's. 

They  had  planned  to  eat  and  even  sleep 
at  the  cottage  during  vacation,  which  was 
still  some  weeks  distant ;  but,  as  they  had 
no  beds,  and  no  provisions,  and  as  their 
parents  said  quite  emphatically  that  they 
could  not  stay  away  from  home  at  night, 
part  of  this  plan  had  to  be  given  up. 

Most  of  the  grown-ups,  however,  wer^ 
greatly  pleased  with  the  cottage  plan.  Mar- 
jory's Aunty  Jane,  who  was  nervous  and 
disliked  having  children  running  in  and  out 
of  her  spotlessly  neat  house,  was  glad  to 
have  Marjory  happy  with  her  little  friends, 
provided  they  were  all  perfectly  safe  — and 


Furnishing  The  Cottage       49 

out  of  earshot.  Overworked  Mrs.  Tucker 
found  it  a  great  relief  to  have  careful  Bettie 
take  two  or  three  of  the  smallest  children 
entirely  off  her  hands  for  several  hours  each 
day.  When  these  infants,  divided  as  equal- 
ly as  possible  among  the  four  girls,  were 
not  needed  indoors  to  serve  as  playthings, 
they  rolled  about  contentedly  inside  the  cot- 
tage fence.  Mabel's  mother  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  say  that  she,  for  one,  was  thankful 
enough  that  Mr.  Black  had  given  the  girls 
a  place  to  play  in.  With  Mabel  engaged 
elsewhere,  it  was  possible,  Mrs.  Bennett  said, 
to  keep  her  own  house  quite  respectably 
neat.  Mrs.  Mapes,  indeed,  missed  quiet, 
•orderly  Jean ;  but  she  would  not  mention  it 
for  fear  of  spoiling  her  tender-hearted  little 
daughter's  pleasure,  and  it  did  not  occur  to 
modest  Jean  that  she  was  of  sufficient  con- 
sequence to  be  missed  by  her  mother  or  any- 
one else. 

The  neighbours,  finding  that  the  long-de- 
serted cottage  was  again  occupied,  began  to 


|0  Dandelion  Cottage 

te  curious  about  the  occupants.  One  day, 
Mrs.  Bartholomew  Crane,  who  lived  almost 
directly  opposite  the  cottage,  found  herself 
so  devoured  by  kindly  curiosity,  that  she 
could  stand  it  no  longer.  Intending  to  be 
neighbourly,  for  Mrs.  Crane  was  always 
neighbourly  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word, 
she  put  on  her  one  good  dress  and  started 
across  the  street  to  call  on  the  newcomers. 

It  was  really  a  great  undertaking  for  Mrs. 
Crane  to  pay  visits,  for  she  was  a  stout, 
slow-moving  person,  and,  owing  to  the  an^ 
tiquity  and  consequent  tenderness  of  her  best 
garments,  it  was  an  even  greater  undertak- 
ing for  the  good  woman  to  make  a  visiting 
toilet.  Her  best  black  silk,  for  instance,  had 
to  be  neatly  mended  with  court-plaster, 
when  all  other  remedies  had  failed,  and  her 
old,  thread-lace  collars  had  been  darned  until 
their  original  floral  patterns  had  given  place 
to  a  mosaic  of  spider  webs.  Mrs.  Crane's 
motives,  however,  were  far  better  than  her 
clothes.    Years  before,  when  she  was  newly 


Furnishing  The  Cottage      51 

married,  she  had  lived  for  months  a  stranger 
in  a  strange  town,  where  it  was  no  unusual 
occurrence  to  live  for  years  in  ignorance  of 
one's  next-door  neighbour's  very  name. 
During  those  unhappy  months,  poor  Mrs. 
Crane,  sociable  by  nature  yet  sadly  afflicted 
with  shyness,  had  suffered  keenly  from  lone- 
liness and  homesickness.  She  had  vowed 
then  that  no  other  stranger  should  suffer  as 
she  had  suffered,  if  it  were  in  her  power  to 
prevent  it;  so,  in  spite  of  increasing  difficul- 
ties, kind  Mrs.  Crane  conscientiously  called 
on  each  newcomer.  In  many  cases,  hers 
was  the  first  welcome  to  be  extended  to  per- 
sons settling  in  Lakewood,  and  although 
these  visits  were  prompted  by  single-minded 
generosity,  it  was  natural  that  she  should, 
at  the  same  time,  make  many  friends. 
These,  however,  were  seldom  lasting  ones, 
for  many  persons,  whose  business  kept  them 
in  Lakeville  for  perhaps  only  a  few  months, 
afterwards  moved  away  and  drifted  quietly 
out  of  Mrs.  Crane's  life. 


52  Dandelion  Cottage 

That  afternoon  the  four  girls  realised  for 
the  first  time  that  Dandelion  Cottage  was 
provided  with  a  doorbell.  In  response  to 
its  lively  jingling,  Mabel  dropped  the  potato 
she  was  peeling  with  neatness  but  hardly 
with  dispatch,  and  hurried  to  the  door. 

"  Is  your  moth  —  is  the  lady  of  the  house 
at  home?"  asked  Mrs.  Crane. 

"Yes'm,  all  of  us  are  —  there's  four," 
stammered  Mabel,  who  wasn't  quite  sure  of 
her  ability  to  entertain  a  grown-up  caller. 
"  Please  walk  in.  Oh !  don't  sit  down  in 
that  one,  please !  There's  only  two  legs  on 
that  chair,  and  it  always  goes  down  flat." 

"Dear  me,"  said  Mrs.  Crane,  moving 
toward  the  cosy  corner,  "  I  shouldn't  have 
suspected  it." 

"Oh,  you  can't  sit  there,  either,"  ex- 
claimed Mabel.  "  You  see,  that's  the  Tuck- 
er baby  taking  his  nap." 

"  My  land ! "  said  stout  Mrs.  Crane,  "  I 
thought  It  was  one  of  those  new  fashioned 
roll  pillows." 


Furnishing  The  Cottage       53 

"  This  chair,"  said  Mabel,  dragging  one 
in  from  the  dining-room,  "  is  the  safest  one 
we  have  in  the  house,  but  you  must  be  care- 
ful to  sit  right  down  square  in  the  middle  of 
it  because  it  slides  out  from  under  you  if 
you  sit  too  hard  on  the  front  edge.  If  you'll 
excuse  me  just  a  minute  I'll  go  call  the  oth- 
ers — '  they're  making  a  vegetable  garden  in 
the  back  yard." 

"Well,  I  declare!"  said  Mrs.  Crane, 
when  she  had  recognised  the  four  young 
housekeepers  and  had  heard  all  about  the 
housekeeping.  "  It  seems  as  if  I  ought  to 
be  able  to  find  something  in  the  way  of  fur- 
niture for  you.  I  have  a  single  iron  bed- 
stead Fm  willing  to  lend  you,  and  maybe 
I  can  find  you  some  other  things." 

"  Thank  you  very  much,"  said  Bettie,  po- 
litely. 

"  I  hope,"  said  Mrs.  Crane,  pleasantly, 
"that  you'll  be  very  neighbourly  and  come 
over  to  see  me  whenever  you  feel  like  it,  fof 
Vm  always  alone." 


54  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Jean,  speaking  for  the 
household.     "  We'd  just  love  to." 

"  Haven't  you  any  children?  "  asked  Bet- 
tie,  sympathetically. 

"  Not  one,"  replied  Mrs.  Crane.  "  I've 
never  had  any  but  I've  always  loved  chil- 
dren." 

"  But  I'm  sure  you  have  a  lot  of  grand- 
children," said  Mabel,  consolingly.  "  You 
look  so  nice  and  grandmothery." 

"  No,"  said  Mrs.  Crane,  not  appearing 
as  sorrowful  as  Mabel  had  supposed  an  ut- 
terly grandchildhss  person  would  look, 
"  I've  never  possessed  any  grandchildren 
either." 

"  But,"  queried  Mabel,  who  was  some- 
times almost  too  inquisitive,  "  haven't  you 
any  relatives,  husbands,  or  anybody,  in  all 
the  world?" 

Many  months  afterward  the  girls  were 
suddenly  reminded  of  Mrs.  Crane's  odd, 
contradictory  reply: 

"No  —  Yes  —  that    is,    no.     None    to 


Furnishing  The  Cottage       55 

speak  of,  I  mean.  Do  you  girls  sleep  here^ 
too?" 

"  No,"  said  Jean.  "  We  want  to,  awful- 
ly, but  our  mothers  won't  let  us.  You  see, 
we  sleep  so  soundly  that  they're  all  afraid 
we  might  get  the  house  afire,  burn  up  and 
never  know  a  thing  about  it." 

"  They're  quite  right,"  said  Mrs.  Crana 
**  I  suppose  they  like  to  have  you  at  home 
once  in  a  while." 

"  Oh,  they  do  have  us,"  replied  Bettie. 
**  We  eat  and  sleep  at  home  and  they  have  us 
all  day  Sundays.  When  they  want  any  of 
us  other  times,  all  they  have  to  do  is  to  open 
a  back  window  and  call  —  Dear  me,  Mrs. 
Crane,  I'll  have  to  ask  you  to  excuse  me  this 
very  minute  —  There's  somebody  calling  me 
now." 

Other  visitors,  including  the  girls'  parents, 
called  at  the  cottage  and  seemed  to  enjoy  it 
very  much  indeed.  The  visitors  were  al- 
ways greatly  interested  and  everybody 
wanted    to    help.    One    brought    a    littk 


56  Dandelion  Cottage 

table  that  really  stood  up  very  well  if 
kept  against  the  wall,  another  found  cur- 
tains for  all  the  windows  —  a  little  ragged, 
to  be  sure,  but  still  curtains.  Grandma 
Pike,  who  had  a  wonderful  garden,  was 
so  delighted  with  everything  that  she 
gave  the  girls  a  crimson  petunia  grow- 
ing in  a  red  tomato  can,  and  a  great 
many  neat  little  homemade  packets  of 
flower  seeds.  Rob  said  they  might  have 
even  his  porcupine  if  they  could  get  it  out 
from  under  the  rectory  porch. 

By  the  end  of  the  week,  the  cottage  pre- 
sented quite  a  lived-in  appearance.  Bright 
pictures  covered  the  dingy  paper,  and, 
thanks  to  numerous  donations,  the  rooms 
looked  very  well  furnished.  No  one  would 
have  suspected  that  the  chairs  were  un- 
trustworthy, the  tables  crippled  and  the 
clocks  devoid  of  works.  The  cottage  seemed 
cosey  and  pleasant,  and  the  girls  kept  it  in 
apple-pie  order. 

Out  of  doors,  the  grass  was  beginning  to 


Furnishing  The  Cottage       57 

show  and  little  green  specks  dotted  the 
flower  beds.  Other  green  specks  in  crooked 
rows  staggered  across  the  vegetable  garden. 

The  four  mothers,  satisfied  that  their  little 
daughters  were  safe  in  Dandelion  Cottage, 
left  them  in  undisturbed  possession. 

"I  declare/'  said  Mrs.  Mapes,  one  day, 
**the  only  time  I  see  Jean,  nowadays,  is 
when  she's  asleep.  Ail  the  rest  of  the  time 
she's  in  school  or  at  the  cottage." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Bennett,  "  when  I  miss 
my  scissors,  or  any  of  my  dishes  or  anything 
else,  I  always  have  to  go  to  the  cottage  and 
get  out  a  search  warrant.  Mabel  has  car- 
ried off  a  wagon-load  of  things,  but  I  don't 
know  when  our  own  house  has  been  so  peace- 


CHAPTER  V 

©overts  iTn  Zbc  Cottage 

i^ripHERFS  no  use  talking,"  said  Jean, 
JL  one  day,  as  the  girls  sat  at  their 
dining  room  table  eating  very  smoky  toast 
and  drinking  the  weakest  of  cocoa,  "  we'll 
have  to  get  some  provisions  of  our  own  be- 
fore long  if  we're  going  to  invite  Mr.  Black 
to  dinner  as  we  promised.  The  cupboard's 
perfectly  empty  and  Bridget  says  I  can't  take 
another  scrap  of  bread  or  one  more  potato 
out  of  the  house  this  week." 

**  Aunty  Jane  says  there'll  be  trouble," 
said  Marjory,  "  if  I  don't  keep  out  of  her  ice 
box,  so  I  guess  I  can't  bring  any  more  milk. 
When  she  says  there'll  be  trouble,  there  usu- 
ally is,  if  I'm  not  pretty  careful.  But  dear 
me,  it  is  such  fun  to  cook  our  own  meals  on 
.that  dear  little  box-stove,  even  if  most  of 
the  things  do  taste  pretty  awful." 
58 


Poverty  In  The  Cottage      59 

"  I  wish/'  said  Mabel,  mournfully,  *'  that 
somebody  would  give  us  a  hen,  so  we  could 
make  omelets." 

"  Who  ever  made  omelets  out  of  a  hen  ?  *' 
asked  Jean,  laughing. 

"  I  meant  out  of  the  eggs,  of  course,*^  said 
Mabel,  with  dignity.  "  Hens  lay  eggs, 
don't  they?  If  we  count  on  five  or  six  eggs 
a  day " 

"  The  goose  that  laid  the  golden  egg  laid 
only  one  a  day,"  said  Marjory.  "  It  seema 
to  me  that  six  is  a  good  many." 

"I  wasn't  talking  about  geese,"  said 
Mabel,  "but  about  just  plain  every  day 
hens." 

"  Six-every-day  hens,  you  mean,  don't 
you  ?  "  asked  Marjory,  teasingly.  "  You'd 
better  wish  for  a  cow,  too,  while  you're 
about  it." 

"Yes,"  said  Bettie,  "we  certainly  need 
one,  for  I'm  not  to  ask  for  butter  more  than 
twice  a  week  —  mother  says  she'll  be  in  the 
poorhouse  before  Summer's  over  if  she  has 
to  provide  butter  for  two  families." 


6o  Dandelion  Cottage 

"I  just  tell  you  what  it  is,  girls,"  said 
Jean,  nibbling  her  cindery  crust,  "  we'll 
just  have  to  earn  some  money  if  we're  to 
give  Mr.  Black  any  kind  of  a  dinner." 

Mabel,  who  always  accepted  new  ideas 
with  enthusiasm,  slipped  quietly  into  the 
kitchen,  took  a  solitary  lemon  from  the  cup- 
board, cut  it  in  half  and  squeezed  the  juice 
into  a  broken-nosed  pitcher.  This  done,  she 
added  a  little  sugar  and  a  great  deal  of  water 
to  the  lemon  juice,  slipped  quietly  out  of  the 
back  door,  ran  around  the  house  and  in  at 
the  front  door,  taking  a  small  table  from  the 
front  room.  This  she  carried  out  of  doors 
to  the  corner  of  the  lot  facing  the  street, 
where  she  established  her  lemonade  stand. 

She  was  almost  immediately  successful, 
for  the  day  was  warm,  and  Mrs.  Bartholo- 
mew Crane,  who  was  entertaining  two  vis- 
itors on  her  front  porch,  was  glad  of  an 
opportunity  to  offer  her  guests  something  in 
the  way  of  refreshment.  The  cottage 
boasted  only  one  glass  that  did  not  leak,  but 


Poverty  In  The  Cottage      6i 

Mabel  cheerfully  made  three  trips  across  the 
street  with  it  —  it  did  not  occur  to  any  of 
them  until  too  late  that  it  would  have  been 
easier  to  carry  the  pitcher  across  in  the  first 
place.  The  lemonade  was  decidedly  weak, 
but  the  visitors  were  too  polite  to  say  so. 
On  her  return,  a  thirsty  small  boy  offered 
Mabel  a  nickel  for  all  that  was  left  in  the 
pitcher,  and  Mabel,  after  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion, accepted  the  offer. 

"  You're  getting  a  bargain,"  said  Mabel. 
"  There's  as  much  as  a  glass  and  three  quar- 
ters there,  besides  all  the  lemon." 

"Did  you  get  a  whole  pitcherful  out  of 
one  lemon  ?  "  asked  the  boy.  "  You'd  be 
able  to  make  circus  lemonade  all  right." 

Before  the  other  girls  had  had  time  tc 
discover  what  had  become  of  her,  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  lemonade  stand  marched  into 
the  cottage  and  proudly  displayed  four  shin- 
ing nickels  and  the  empty  pitcher. 

"  Why,  where  in  the  world  did  you  get 
all   that?"   cried   Marjory.     "Surely  you 


62  Dandelion  Cottage 

never  earned  it  by  being  on  time  for  meals  — 
you've  been  late  three  times  a  day  ever  since 
we  got  the  cottage." 

"Sold  lemonade/'  said  Mabel.  "Our 
troubles  are  over,  girls.  I'm  going  to  buy 
two  lemons  to-morrow  and  sell  twice  as 
much," 

*"Good!"  cried  Bettie,  "I'll  help.  The 
boys  have  promised  to  bring  me  a  lot  of 
arbutus  to-night  - —  they  went  to  the  woods 
this  morning.  I'll  tie  it  in  bunches  and  per* 
haps  we  can  sell  that,  too." 

"  Wouldn't  it  be  splendid  if  we  could  have 
Mr.  Black  here  to  dinner  next  Saturday," 
said  Jean,  "  I'll  never  be  satisfied  until  we've 
kept  that  promise,  but  I  don't  suppose  we 
could  possibly  get  enough  things  together  by 
that  time." 

"  I  have  a  sample  can  of  baking  powder," 
offered  Marjory,  hopefully.  "I'll  bring  it 
over  next  time  I  come." 

"  What's  the  good  ?  "  asked  matter-of-fact 
Mabel.     "  We  can't  feed  Mr.  Black  on  just 


Poverty  In  The  Cottage      63 


plain  baking  powder,  and  we  haven't  anf 
biscuits  to  raise  with  it." 

"  Dear  me,"  said  Jean,  "  I  wish  we  hadn't 
been  so  extravagant  at  first.  If  we  hadn't 
had  so  many  tea  parties  last  week  we  might 
get  enough  flour  and  things  at  home. 
Mother  says  it's  too  expensive  having  all  her 
groceries  carried  oilf." 

"  Never  mind,"  consoled  Mabel,  con- 
fidently, "  we'll  be  buying  our  own  groceries 
by  this  time  to-morrow  with  the  money  we 
make  selling  lemonade  —  a  boy  said  my 
lemonade  was  quite  as  good  as  you  can  buy 
at  the  circus." 

Unfortunately,  however,  it  rained  the 
next  day  and  the  next,  so  lemonade  was  out 
of  the  question.  By  the  time  it  cleared, 
Bettie's  neat  little  bunches  of  arbutus  were 
no  longer  fresh,  and  careless  Mabel  had  for- 
gotten where  she  had  put  the  money.  She 
mentioned  no  less  than  twenty-two  places 
where  the  four  precious  nickels  might  be  but 
none  of  them  happened  to  be  the  right  one. 


64  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  Mercy  me,"  said  Bettie,  "  it*s  dreadful 
to  be  so  poor.  Fm  afraid  we'll  have  to  in- 
vite Mr.  Black  to  one  of  our  bread  and 
sugar  tea  parties,  after  all." 

"No,"  said  Jean,  firmly.  "We've  just 
got  to  give  him  a  regular  seven  course  din- 
ner —  he  has  'em  every  day  at  home.  We'll 
have  to  put  it  off  until  we  can  do  it  in  style." 

"By  and  by,"  said  Mabel,  "we'll  have 
beans  and  radishes  and  things  in  our  own 
garden,  and  we  can  go  to  the  woods  for 
berries." 

"  Perhaps,"  said  Bettie,  hopefully,  "  one 
of  the  boys  might  catch  a  fish  —  Rob  almost 
did,  once." 

"  I  suppose  I  could  ask  Aunty  Jane  for  a 
potato  once  in  a  while,"  said  Marjory,  "  but 
I'll  have  to  give  her  time  to  forget  about  last 
month's  grocery  bill  —  she  says  we  never 
before  used  so  many  eggs  in  one  month  and 
I  guess  Maggie  did  give  me  a  good  many. 
Potatoes  will  keep,  you  know.  We  can  save 
*em  until  we  have  enough  for  a  meal." 


Poverty  In  The  Cottage      65 

»■ 

"  While  we're  about  it,"  said  Bettie,  "  I 
think  we'd  better  have  Mrs.  Crane  to  dinner, 
too.  She's  such  a  nice  old  lady  and  she's 
been  awfully  good  to  us." 

"  She's  not  very  well  off,"  agreed  Mabel, 
**and  probably  a  real,  first  class  dinner 
would  taste  good  to  her." 

"  But,"  pleaded  Bettie,  "  Don't  let's  ask 
her  until  we're  sure  of  the  date.  As  it  is,  I 
can't  sleep  nights  for  thinking  of  how  Mr. 
Black  must  feel.  He'll  think  we  don't  want 
him." 

"  You'd  better  explain  to  him,"  suggested 
Jean,  "  that  it  isn't  convenient  to  have  him 
just  yet,  but  that  we're  going  to  just  as  soon 
as  ever  we  can.  We  mustn't  tell  him  why, 
because  it  would  be  just  like  him  to  send  the 
provisions  here  himself,  and  then  it  wouldn't 
really  be  our  party." 

In  spite  of  all  the  girls'  plans,  however,  by 
the  end  of  the  week  the  cottage  larder  was 
still  distressingly  empty.  Marjory  had,  in« 
deed,  industriously  collected  potatoes,  only 


66  Dandelion  Cottage 

to  have  them  carried  off  by  an  equally  indus- 
trious rat;  and  Mabel's  four  nickels  still 
remained  missing.  Things  in  the  vegetable 
garden  seemed  singularly  backward,  possi- 
bly because  the  four  eager  gardeners  kept 
digging  them  up  to  see  if  they  were  grow- 
ing. Their  parents  and  Marjory's  Aunty 
Jane  were  firmer  than  ever  in  their  refusal  to 
part  with  any  more  staple  groceries. 

Perhaps  if  the  girls  had  explained  why 
they  wanted  the  things,  their  relatives  would 
have  been  more  generous;  but  girl-like,  the 
four  poverty-stricken  young  housekeepers 
made  a  deep  mystery  of  their  dinner  plan. 
It  was  their  most  cherished  secret,  and  when 
they  met  each  morning  they  always  said, 
mysteriously,  "  Good  Morning  —  remem- 
ber M.  B.  D.,"  which  meant  of  course,  "  Mr. 
Black's  Dinner." 

Mr.  Black,  indeed,  never  went  by  without 
referring  to  the  girls'  promise. 

"  When,"  he  would  ask,  "  is  that  dinner 
party  coming  off?    It's  a  long  time  since 


Poverty  In  The  Cottage      67 

I've  been  invited  to  a  first  class  dinner, 
cooked  by  four  accomplished  young  ladies, 
and  I'm  getting  hungrier  every  minute. 
When  I  get  up  in  the  morning  I  always  say : 
*  now  I  won't  eat  much  breakfast  because 
I've  got  to  save  room  for  that  dinner ' —  and 
then,  after  all,  I  don't  get  invited." 

The  situation  was  growing  really  embar- 
rassing. The  girls  began  to  feel  that  keep- 
ing house,  not  to  mention  giving  dinner 
parties,  with  no  income  whatever,  was  any- 
thing but  a  joke. 


CHAPTER   VI 

7i  XoDgec  ^o  tibe  TRescue 

GRASS  was  beginning  to  grow  on  the 
tiny  lawn,  all  sorts  of  thrifty  young 
seedlings  were  popping  up  in  the  flower 
beds  and  Jean's  pansies  were  actually  be- 
ginning to  blossom.  The  girls  had  trained 
the  rampant  Virginia  creeper  away  from  the 
windows  and  had  coaxed  it  to  climb  the 
porch  pillars.  From  the  outside,  no  one 
would  have  suspected  that  Dandelion  Cot- 
tage was  not  occupied  by  a  regular  grown- 
up family.  Book  agents  and  peddlers  of- 
fered their  wares  at  the  front  door,  and  ap- 
peared very  much  crestfallen  when  Bettie, 
or  one  of  the  others,  explained  that  the 
neatly-kept  little  cottage  was  just  a  play- 
house. Handbills  and  sample  packages  of 
yeast  cakes  were  left  on  the  doorstep,  and 
once,  a  brand  new  postman  actually  dropped 


A    MIDDLE-AGED   YOUNO   LADY  STOOD   OX  THE    DOOR-STEP. P.   69. 


A  Lodger  To  The  Rescue      69 

a  letter  into  the  letter-box  —  Mabel  carried 
it  afterwards  to  Mrs.  Bartholomew  Crane, 
to  whom  it  rightfully  belonged. 

One  afternoon,  when  Jean  was  rearrang- 
ing the  dining  room  pictures  —  they  had  to 
be  rearranged  very  frequently  —  and  when 
Mabel  and  Marjory  were  busy  putting  fresh 
papers  on  the  pantry  shelves,  there  was  a 
ring  at  the  doorbell. 

Bettie,  who  had  been  dusting  the  parlour, 
pushed  the  chairs  into  place,  threw  her 
duster  into  the  dining  room  and  ran  to  the 
door.  A  lady  —  Bettie  described  her  after- 
wards as  a  "  middle-aged  young  lady  with 
the  sweetest  dimple  " —  stood  on  the  door- 
step. 

"Is  your  mother  at  home?"  asked  the 
lady,  smiling  pleasantly  at  Bettie,  who 
liked  the  stranger  at  once. 

"She  —  she  doesn't  live  here,"  said  Bat- 
tle, taken  by  surprise. 

"  Perhaps  you  can  tell  me  what  I  want  to 
know.    I'm  a  stranger  in  town  and  I  want 


*jo  Dandelion  Cottage 

to  rent  a  room  in  this  neighbourhood.  I  am 
to  have  my  meals  at  Mrs.  Baker's  but  she 
hasn't  any  place  for  me  to  sleep.  I  don't 
want  anything  very  expensive,  but  of  course 
I'd  be  willing  to  pay  a  fair  price.  Do  you 
know  of  anybody  with  rooms  to  rent?  I'm 
to  be  in  town  for  three  weeks." 

Bettie  shook  her  head,  reflectively. 
"  No,  I  don't  believe  I  do,  unless " 

Bettie  paused  to  look  inquiringly  at  Jean, 
who,  framed  by  the  dining  room  doorway, 
was  nodding  her  head  vigorously. 

"  Perhaps  Jean  does,"  finished  Bettie. 

"Are  you  very  particular,"  asked  Jean, 
coming  forward,  "  about  what  kind  of  a 
room  it  is  ?  " 

"  Why,  not  so  very,"  returned  the  guest. 
"  I'm  afraid  I  couldn't  afford  a  very  grand 
one." 

"  Are  you  very  timid  ?  "  asked  Bettie,  who 
had  suddenl)r  guessed  what  Jean  had  in 
mind.  "  I  mean  are  you  afraid  of  burglars 
and  mice  and  things  like  that  ?  " 


A  Lodger  To  The  Rescue      71 

"  Why,  most  persons  are,  I  imagine,"  said 
the  young  woman,  whose  eyes  were  twink- 
ling pleasantly.  "  Are  there  a  great  many 
mice  and  burglars  in  this  neighbourhood  ?  ** 

"  Mice,"  said  Jean,  "  but  not  burglars  — 
It's  a  very  honest  neighbourhood.  I  think  I 
have  an  idea,  but  you  see  there  are  four  of  us 
and  I'll  have  to  consult  the  others  about  it, 
too.  Sit  here,  please,  in  the  cosey  corner  — 
it's  the  safest  piece  of  furniture  we  have. 
Now  if  you'll  excuse  us  just  a  minute  we'll 
go  to  the  kitchen  and  talk  it  over." 

"  Certainly,"  murmured  the  lady,  who 
looked  a  trifle  embarrassed  at  encountering 
the  gaze  of  the  forty-two  staring  dolls  that 
sat  all  around  the  parlour  with  their  backs 
against  the  baseboard.  "  I  hope  I  haven't 
interrupted  a  party." 

"Not  at  all,"  assured  Bettie,  with  her 
best  company  manner. 

"  Girls,"  said  Jean,  when  she  and  Bettie 
were  in  the  kitchen  with  the  door  carefully 
closed  behind  them,  "  would  you  be  willing 


72  Dandelion  Cottage 


to  rent  the  front  bedroom  to  a  clean,  nice 
looking  lady  if  she'd  be  willing  to  take  it? 
She  wants  to  pay  for  a  room,  she  says,  and 
she  looks  very  polite  and  pleasant,  doesn't 
she,  Bettie?" 

"  Yes,"  corroborated  Bettie,  "  I  like  her. 
She  has  kind  of  twinkling  brown  eyes  and 
such  nice  dimples." 

"  You  see,"  explained  Jean,  "  the  money 
would  pay  for  Mr.  Black's  dinner." 

"Why,  so  it  would,"  cried  Marjory.: 
"  Let's  do  it." 

"  Yes,"  echoed  Mabel,  "  for  goodness' 
sake,  let's  do  it.  It's  only  three  weeks,  any- 
way, and  what's  three  weeks ! 

"  How  would  it  be,"  asked  Marjory,  cau- 
tiously, "  to  take  her  on  approval  ?  Aunty 
Jane  always  has  hats  and  things  sent  on 
approval,  so  she  can  send  them  back  if  they 
don't  fit." 

"Splendid!"  cried  Mabel.  ''If  she 
doesn't  fit  Dandelion  Cottage,  she  can't 
stay." 


A  Lodger  To  The  Rescue     73 

'*  Oh,"  gurgled  Marjory,  "  what  a  dinner 
we'll  give  Mr.  Black  and  Mrs.  Crane. .  We'll 
have  ice  cream  and " 

*'Huh!"  said  Mabel,  "most  likely  she 
won't  take  the  room  at  all.  Anyhow,  proba- 
bly she's  got  tired  of  waiting  and  has  gone.'* 

"  We'll  go  and  see,"  said  Jeaa.  **  Come 
on,  everybody." 

The  lady,  however,  still  sat  on  the  hard, 
lumpy  cosey-corner,  with  her  toes  just 
touching  the  ground. 

"  Well,"  said  she,  smiling  at  the  flock  of 
girls,  "  how  about  the  idea  ?  " 

The  other  three  looked  expectantly  at 
Jean;  Mabel  nudged  her  elbow  and  Bettie 
nodded  at  her. 

"  You  talk,"  said  Marjory,  "  you're  the 
oldest." 

"It's  like  this,"  explained  Jean,  "this 
house  isn't  good  enough  to  rent  to  grown- 
ups because  it's  all  out  of  repair,  so  they've 
lent  it  to  us  for  the  summer  for  a  playhouse. 
The  back  of  it  leaks  dreadfully  when  it 


/4  Dandelion  Cottage 


rainsp  and  the  plaster  is  all  down  in  the 
kitchen,  but  the  front  bedroom  is  really  very 
nice  —  if  you  don't  raiud  having  four  kinds 
of  carpet  on  the  floor.  This  is  a  very  safe 
neighbourhood,  no  tramps  or  anything  like 
that,  and  if  you're  not  an  awfully  timid  per- 
son, perhaps  you  wouldn't  mind  staying 
alone  at  night." 

"If  you  did,"  added  Bettie,  "probably 
one  of  us  could  sleep  in  the  other  room  un- 
less it  happened  to  rain  —  it  rains  right 
down  on  the  bed." 

"Could  I  go  upstairs  to  look  at  the 
room  ?  "  asked  the  young  woman, 

"There  isn't  any  upstairs,"  said  Bettie, 
pulling  back  a  curtain,  "the  room's  right 
here." 

"Why!  What  a  dear  little  room  — all 
white  and  blue." 

"  I  hope  you  don't  mind  having  children 
around,"  said  Marjory,  somewhat  anxious- 
ly. "  You  see,  we'd  have  to  play  in  the  rest 
of  the  house." 


A  Lodger  To  The  Rescue     75 

**0f  course,"  added  Jean,  hastily,  "if 
you  had  company  you  could  use  the  parlour 

"And  the  front  steps,"  said  Bettie. 

"I'm  very  fond  of  children,"  said  the 
young  lady,  "and  I  don't  expect  to  have 
any  company  but  you  because  I  don't  know 
anybody  here.  I  shall  be  away  every  day 
until  about  five  o'clock  because  I  am  here 
with  my  father  who  is  tuning  church  organs, 
and  I  have  to  help  him.  I  strike  the  notes 
while  he  works  behind  the  organ.  He  has  a 
room  at  Mrs.  Baker's,  but  she  didn't  have 
any  place  to  put  me.  I  think  I  should  like 
this  little  room  very  much  indeed  —  now, 
how  much  are  you  going  to  charge  me  for 
It?" 

Jean  looked  at  Bettie,  and  Bettie  looked 
at  the  other  two. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Jean,  at  last. 

"  Neither  do  I,"  said  Bettie. 

"  Would  —  would  a  dollar  a  week  be  too 
much  ?  "  asked  Marjory. 


j6  Dandelion  Cottage 

**  It  wouldn't  be  enough/'  said  the  young 
woman,  promptly.  *'  My  father  pays  five 
for  the  room  he  has,  but  it's  really  a  larger 
room  than  he  wanted.  I  should  be  very 
glad  to  give  you  two  dollars  and  a  half  a 
week  —  I'm  sure  I  couldn't  find  a  furnished 
room  anywhere  for  less  than  that.  Can  I 
move  in  to-night?  I've  nothing  but  a  small 
trunk." 

"Ye  —  es,"  said  Bettie,  looking  inquir- 
ingly at  Jean.  "  I  think  we  could  get  it 
ready  by  seven  o'clock.  It's  all  perfectly 
clean,  but  you  see  we'll  have  to  change 
things  around  a  little  and  fix  up  the  wash- 
stand." 

"I'm  sure,"  said  the  visitor,  turning  to 
depart,  "that  it  all  looks  quite  lovely  just 
as  it  is.    You  may  expect  me  at  seven." 


CHAPTER  Vn 

/Ibaftfng  XLbc  %ot>gct  Comtortable 

**TTI7ELL,"  exclaimed  Marjory,  when 
¥  f  the  door  had  closed  behind  their 
pleasant  visitor,  "  isn't  this  too  grand  for 
words!  Ifs  just  like  finding  a  bush  with 
pennies  growing  on  it,  or  a  pot  of  gold  at 
the  end  of  the  rainbow.  Two  and  a  half  a 
week!  That's  —  let  me  see.  Why!  that's 
seven  dollars  and  a  half !  We  can  buy  Mr. 
Black's  dinner  and  have  enough  money  left 
io  live  on  for  a  long  time  afterwards." 

"  Mercy ! "  cried  Mabel,  "  we  never  said 
a  word  to  her  about  taking  her  on  approval. 
We  didn't  even  ask  her  name." 

"Pshaw!"  said  Jean,  "she's  all  right. 
She  couldn't  be  disagreeable  if  she  wanted 
to  with  that  dimple  and  those  sparkles  in 
her  eyes ;  but  girls,  we've  a  tremendous  lot 
to  do." 

79 


78  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  Yes,"  said  Mabel,  "  if  she'd  known  that 
the  pillows  under  those  ruffled  shams  were 
just  flour  sacks  stuffed  with  excelsior,  she 
wouldn't  have  thought  everything  so  lovely. 
Girls,  what  in  the  world  are  we  to  do  for 
sheets?    We  haven't  even  one." 

"  And  blankets,"  said  Marjory, 

"And  quilts,"  said  Bettie.  ''That  old 
white  spread  is  every  bit  of  bed-clothes  we 
own.  I  was  so  afraid  she'd  turn  the 
cover  down  and  see  that  ever3rthing  else 
was  just  pieces  of  burlaps." 

"  It's  a  good  thing  the  mattress  is  all 
right,"  said  Marjory,  "but  there  isn't  any 
bottom  to  the  water  pitcher  and  the  basin 
leaks  like  anything." 

"  We'll  just  have  to  go  home,"  said  Jean, 
"  and  tell  our  mothers  all  about  it.  We'll 
have  to  borrow  what  we  need.  We  must 
get  a  lamp  too,  and  some  oil,  because  there 
isn't  any  other  way  of  lighting  the  house." 

The  four  girls  ran  first  of  all  to  Bettie's 
house,  with  their  surprising  news. 


I 


The  Lodger's  Comfort        79 

"But,  Bettie/'  said  Mrs.  Tucker,  when 
her  little  daughter  helped  by  the  other  three, 
had  explained  the  situation,  "  are  you  sure 
she's  nice?  I'm  afraid  you've  been  a  little 
rash." 

"  Just  as  nice  as  can  be,"  assured  Bettie. 

"  Yes,"  said  Dr.  Tucker,  "  I  guess  it's  all 
right.  I  know  the  organ  tuner  —  I  used  to 
see  him  twice  a  year  when  we  lived  in  Ohio. 
His  name  is  Blossom  and  he's  a  very  fine 
old  fellow.  I  met  his  daughter  this  after- 
noon when  they  were  examining  the  church 
organ  and  she  seemed  a  pleasant,  well  edu- 
cated young  woman  —  I  believe  he  said  she 
taught  a  kindergarten  during  the  winter. 
The  girls  haven't  made  any  mistake  this 
time." 

"  Then  we  must  make  her  comfortable," 
said  Mrs.  Tucker.  "  You  may  take  sheets 
and  pillow-cases  from  the  linen  closet,  Bet- 
tie,  and  you  must  see  that  she  has  everything 
she  needs." 

Excited  Bettie  danced  off  to  the  linen 


So  DandeKon  Cottage 

closet  and  the  others  ran  home  to  tell  the 
good  news. 

"  I've  filled  a  lamp  for  you,  Bettie,"  said 
Mrs.  Tucker,  meeting  Bettie,  with  her  arms 
full  of  sheets  at  the  bottom  of  the  stairs. 
"  Here's  a  box  of  matches,  too." 

When  Bettie  was  returning  with  her 
spoils  to  Dandelion  Cottage  she  almost 
bumped  into  Mabel  whom  she  met  at  the 
gate  with  a  pillow  under  each  arm,  a  folded 
patchwork  quilt  balanced  unsteadily  on  her 
head,  and  her  chubby  hands  clasped  about 
a  big  brass  lamp. 

"  The  pillows  are  off  my  own  bed,"  said 
Mabel.  "  Mother  wasn't  home  but  she 
wouldn't  care,  anyway." 

"  But  can  you  sleep  without  them  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I'll  take  home  one  of  the  excelsior 
ones,"  said  Mabel.  "I  can  sleep  on  any- 
thing." 

Jean  came  in  a  moment  later  with  a  pile 
of  blankets  and  quilts.  She,  too,  had  a 
lamp,  packed  carefully  in  a  big  basket  that 


The  Lodger's  Comfort        8i 

hung  from  her  arm.  Marjory  followed 
almost  at  her  heels  with  more  bedding,  tow- 
els, a  fourth  lamp  and  two  candlesticks. 

"Well,"  laughed  Bettie,  when  all  the 
lamps  and  candles  were  placed  in  a  row  on 
the  dining-room  table,  "  I  guess  Miss  Blos- 
som will  have  almost  light  enough.  Here 
are  four  big  lamps  and  two  candles ^* 

"  I've  six  more  candles  in  my  blouse," 
said  Mabel,  laughing  and  fishing  them  out 
one  at  a  time.  "  I  thought  they'd  do  for  the 
blue  candlesticks  Mrs.  Crane  gave  us  for  the 
bedroom." 

"  Isn't  it  fortunate,"  said  Jean,  who  was 
thumping  the  mattress  vigorously,  "that 
we  put  the  best  bed  in  this  room?  Beds 
are  such  hard  things  to  move." 

"Ye  —  es,"  said  Bettie,  rather  doubtful- 
ly, "  but  1  think  we'd  better  tell  Miss  Blos- 
som not  to  be  surprised  if  the  slats  fall  out 
once  in  a  while  during  the  night  You 
know  they  always  do  if  you  happen  to  turn 
over  too  suddenly." 


8  a  DandeKcn  Cottage 


"We  must  warn  her  about  the  chairs. 
too,"  said  Marjory.  "None  of  them  are 
really  very  safe." 

"I  guess,"  said  Jean,  "I'd  better  bring 
over  the  rocking  chair  from  my  own  room, 
but  Tm  afraid  she'll  just  have  to  grin  an^ 
bear  the  slats,  because  they  zvill  fall  out  in 
spite  of  anything  I  can  do." 

By  seven  o'clock  the  room  was  really 
quite  comfortable.  The  washstand,  which 
was  really  only  a  wooden  box  thinly  dis- 
guised by  a  muslin  curtain  gathered  across 
the  front  and  sides,  was  supplied  with  a 
sound  basin,  a  whole  pitcher,  numerous  tow- 
els and  four  kinds  of  soap  — •  the  girls  had 
all  thought  of  soap.  They  were  unable  to 
decide  which  kind  the  lodger  would  like 
best,  so  they  laid  Bettie's  clear  amber  cake 
of  glycerine  soap,  Jean's  scentless  white 
castile,  Marjory's  square  of  green  cucumber 
soap  and  Mabel's  highly  perfumed  oval  pink 
cake,  in  a  rainbow  row  on  the  washstand. 

The  bed,  bountifully  supplied  with  cover 


The  Lodger's  Comfort        83 

ings  —  had  Dandelion  Cottage  been  sudden- 
ly transported  to  Alaska  the  lodger  would 
still  have  had  blankets  to  spare,  so  generous- 
ly had  her  enthusiastic  landladies  provided 
—  looked  very  comfortable  indeed.  At  half 
past  seven  when  the  lodger  arrived  with 
apologies  for  being  late  because  the  dray- 
man, who  was  to  move  her  trunk,  had  been 
slow,  the  cottage,  for  the  first  time  since  the 
girls  had  occupied  it,  was  brilliantly  lighted. 

"We  thought,"  explained  Bettie,  "that 
you  might  feel  less  frightened  in  a  strange 
place  if  you  had  plenty  of  light,  though  we 
didn't  really  mean  to  have  so  many  lamps  — ■ 
we  each  supposed  we  were  bringing  the  only 
one.  Anyway,  we  don't  know  which  one 
burns  best." 

"  If  they  should  all  go  out,"  said  Mabel, 
earnestly,  "  there  are  candles  and  matches 
on  the  little  shelf  above  the  bed." 

When  the  lodger  had  been  warned  about 
the  loose  slats  and  the  untrustworthiness  of 
the  chairs,  the  girls  said  good-night. 


84  Dandelion  Cottage 

"You  needn't  go  on  my  account,"  said 
Miss  Blossom.  "  It's  pleasant  to  have  you 
here  —  still,  Fm  not  afraid  to  stay  alone. 
You  must  always  do  just  as  you  like  about 
staying,  you  know ;  I  shouldn't  like  to  think 
that  I  was  driving  you  out  of  this  dear  little 
house,  for  it  was  nice  of  you  to  let  me  come. 
I  think  I  was  very  fortunate  in  finding  a 
room  so  near  Mrs.  Baker's." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Jean,  "  but  we  always 
have  to  be  home  before  dark  unless  we  have 
permission  to  stay  any  place." 

"  I  have  to  go,"  confided  Mabel,  "  because 
I  was  so  excited  that  I  forgot  to  eat  my  sup- 
per." 

"  So  did  I,"  said  Marjory,  frankly,  "  and 
I'm  just  as  hungry  as  a  bear." 

**  Everybody  come  home  with  me,"  said 
Jean,  "we  always  have  dinner  later  than 
you  do  and  the  things  can't  be  very  cold." 


CHAPTER  Vm 

^be  (5lrl0  2)(6Close  H  iplan 

DID  you  sleep  well,  Miss  Blossom ?^^ 
asked  Bettie,  shyly  waylaying  the 
lodger  who  was  on  her  way  to  breakfast. 

"  Ye  —  es,"  said  Miss  Blossom,  smiling 
brightly,  "  but  in  spite  of  your  warning  and 
all  my  care,  the  bottom  dropped  out  of  my 
bed  and  landed  the  mattress  on  the  floor, 
but  no  harm  was  done.  As  soon  as  I  dis- 
covered that  I  was  not  falling  down  an  ele- 
vator shaft,  I  went  to  sleep  again.  I  think 
if  I  had  a  few  nails  and  some  little  blocks 
of  wood  I  could  fix  those  slats  so  they'd 
stay  in  better ;  you  see  they're  not  quite  long 
enough  for  the  bed." 

"  ril  find  some  for  you,"  said  Bettie. 
"  You'll  find  them  on  the  parlour  table  when 
you  get  back." 

Before  the  week  was  over  thf  ^irls  had 
85 


86  Dandelion  Cottage 


discovered  that  their  new  friend  was  in 
every  way  a  most  delightful  person.  She 
proved  surprisingly  skilful  with  hammer  and 
nails,  and  besides  mending  the  bed  she  soon 
had  several  of  the  chairs  quite  firm  on  their 
legs. 

"  Why,"  cried  Bettie,  one  day,  as  she  de- 
lightedly inspected  an  old  black  walnut 
rocker  that  had  always  collapsed  at  the 
slightest  touch,  "this  old  chair  is  almost 
strong  enough  to  walk!  I'm  so  glad  youVe 
made  so  many  of  them  safe,  because,  when 
Mrs.  Bartholomew  Crane  comes  to  see  us, 
she's  always  afraid  to  sit  down.  She's  such 
a  nice  neighbour  that  we'd  like  to  make  her 
comfortable." 

"  We  have  the  loveliest  friends,"  said 
Jean,  with  a  contented  sigh.  "  It's  hard  to 
tell  which  is  the  nicest  one." 

"  But  the  dearest  two,''  explained  Mar- 
jory, discriminating  nicely,  "  are  Mr.  Black 
and  Mrs.  Crane  —  excepting  you,  of  course. 
Miss  Blossom." 


Disclosing  A  Plan  87 

"Someway,"  added  Bettie,  "we  always 
think  of  those  two  in  one  breath,  like  Dom- 
bey  and  Son,  or  Jack  and  Jill." 

"  But  they  couldn't  be  farther  apart  real- 
Ij/'  declared  Jean.  "  They're  both  nice, 
both  are  kind  of  old,  both  are  dark  and 
rather  stout,  but  except  for  that  they're  alto- 
gether different.  Mr.  Black  has  everything 
in  the  world  that  anybody  could  want  and 
Mrs.  Crane  hasn't  much  of  anything.  Mr. 
Black  is  invited  to  banquets  and  things  and 
rides  in  carriages  and " 

"  Has  a  silk  hat,"  assisted  Mabel. 

"  And  Mrs.  Crane,"  continued  Jean,  pay- 
ing no  attention  to  the  interruption,  "  can't 
even  afford  to  ride  in  the  street  car  —  I've 
heard  her  say  so." 

"  I  wish,"  groaned  generous  Mabel,  with 
deep  contrition,  "  that  I'd  never  taken  a  cent 
for  that  lemonade  I  sold  her  last  spring.  If 
I'd  dreamed  how  good  and  how  poor  she 
was  I  wouldn't  have.  She  might  have  had 
four  ride'-  with  that  money." 


88  Dandelion   Cottage 

"  /  wish/'  said  Jean,  "  we  could  do  some- 
thing perfectly  grand  and  beautiful  for  Mrs. 
Crane.  She's  always  doing  the  kindest  lit- 
tle things  for  other  people." 

"  Well,"  demanded  Marjory,  "  aren't  we 
going  to  have  her  here  to  dinner,  too,  when 
we  have  Mr.  Black  ?  Please  don't  tell  any- 
body. Miss  Blossom  —  it's  to  be  a  surprise." 

"  Still,  just  a  dinner  doesn't  seem  to  be 
enough,"  said  Jean,  who,  with  her  chin  in 
her  hand,  seemed  to  be  thinking  deeply. 
"Of  course  it  helps  but  I'd  rather  save  her 
life  or  do  something  like  that." 

"Little  things  count  for  a  great  deal  in 
this  world,  sometimes,"  said  Miss  Blossom, 
leaning  down  to  brush  her  cheek  softly 
against  Jean's.  "  It's  generally  wiser  to 
leave  the  big  things  until  one  is  big  enough 
to  handle  them." 

"  Mrs.  Crane  is  pretty  big,"  offered  mat- 
ter-of-fact Mabel. 

"  Oh,  dear,"  laughed  Miss  Blossom,  "that 
wasn't  at  all  what  I  meant." 


Disclosing  A  Plan  89 

"  Mr.  Black/'  said  Bettie,  dreamily,  "  has 
enough  things  but  I  don't  believe  he  really 
cares  about  anything  in  the  world  but  his 
roses  —  his  face  is  different  when  he  talks 
about  them,  kind  of  soft  all  about  the  cor- 
ners and  not  so  —  not  so " 

"Daniel  Webstery,"  supplied  Jean,  un- 
derstandingly. 

"  It  must  be  pretty  lonely  for  him  with- 
out any  family,"  agreed  Miss  Blossom.  **  I 
don't  know  what  would  become  of  father  if 
he  didn't  have  me  to  keep  him  cheered  up  — 
we're  wonderful  chums,  father  and  I." 

"  Oh,"  mourned  tender-hearted  Bettie, 
"  I  msh  I  could  make  Mrs.  Crane  rich 
enough  so  she  wouldn't  need  to  mend  all  the 
time,  and  that  I  could  provide  Mr.  Black 
with  some  really  truly  relatives  to  love  him 
the  way  you  love  your  father." 

"O  Bettie!  Bettie!"  cried  Mabel,  sud- 
denly beginning,  in  her  excitement,  to 
bounce  up  and  down  on  the  one  chair  ^that 
possessed  springs,  "  I  know  exactly  how  we 


qo  Dandelion   Cottage 

could  help  them  both.  We  could  beg  seven 
or  eight  children  from  the  orphan  asylum  — 
they're  glad  to  give  'em  away  —  and  let 
Mrs.  Crane  sell  'em  to  Mr.  Black  for  —  for 
ten  dollars  apiece." 

Such  a  storm  of  merriment  followed  this 
simple  solution  of  the  problem  that  Mabel 
for  the  moment  looked  quite  crushed.  Her 
chair,  incidentally  was  crushed,  too,  for  Ma- 
bel's final  bounce  proved  too  much  for  its 
frail  constitution;  its  four  legs  spread  sud- 
denly and  lowered  surprised  Mabel  gently 
but  unexpectedly  to  the  floor.  Everybody 
laughed  again,  Mabel  as  heartily  as  anyone, 
and,  for  a  time,  the  sorrows  of  Mrs.  Crane 
and  Mr.  Black  were  forgotten. 

The  dinner  party,  however,  still  remained 
uppermost  in  all  their  plans.  Mabel  was 
in  favoui  of  giving  it  at  once,  but  the  other 
girls  were  more  cautious,  so  the  little  mis- 
tresses of  Dandelion  Cottage  finally  decided 
to  postpone  the  party  until  after  Miss  Blos- 
^m  had  paid  her  rent  in  full. 


Disclosing  A  Plan  91 

"  Yoti  see,"  explained  cautious  Marjory, 
one  day  when  the  girls  were  alone,  "  she 
might  get  called  away  suddenly  before  the 
fhree  weeks  are  up,  and  if  we  spent  more 
money  than  we  have  it  wouldn't  be  very 
comfortable.  Besides  IVe  never  seen  seven 
dollars  and  a  half  all  at  once  and  Td  like 
to." 

But  the  dinner  plan  was  no  longer  the 
profound  secret  that  it  had  been  at  first,  for 
when  the  young  housekeepers  had  told  their 
mothers  about  their  lodger,  they  had  been 
obliged  to  tell  them  also  what  they  intended 
to  do  with  the  money.  In  the  excitement  of 
the  moment,  they  had  all  neglected  to  men- 
tion Mrs.  Crane,  but  later,  when  they  made 
good  this  omission,  their  news  was  received 
in  a  most  perplexing  fashion.  The  girls 
were  greatly  puzzled,  but  they  did  not  hap- 
pen to  compare  notes  until  after  something 
that  happened  at  the  dinner  party  had  re- 
minded them  of  their  parents'  incompre* 
hensible  behaviour* 


9^  Dandelion  Cottage 

**  Mamma,"  said  Bettie,  one  evening  at 
supper  time,  soon  after  Miss  Blossom's  ar- 
rival, "  I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  we're  going 
to  ask  Mrs.  Crane,  too,  when  we  have  Mr. 
Black  to  dinner.  It's  to  be  a  surprise  for 
both  of  them." 

"  What !  "  gasped  Mrs.  Tucker,  dropping 
her  muffin,  and  looking  not  at  Bettie,  but 
at  Dr.  Tucker.  "  Surely  not  Mrs.  Crane 
and  Mr.  Black,  too !  You  don't  mean  both 
at  the  same  time ! " 

"Why  yes,  mamma,"  said  Bettie.  "It 
wouldn't  cost  any  more." 

Then  the  little  girl  looked  with  astonish* 
ment  first  at  her  father  and  then  at  her 
mother,  for  Dr.  Tucker,  with  a  warning 
finger  against  his  lips,  was  shaking  his  head 
just  as  hard  as  he  could  at  Mrs.  Tucker, 
who  looked  the  very  picture  of  amazement. 

"Why!"  asked  Bettie,  "what's  the  mat- 
ter? Don't  you  think  it's  a  good  plan? 
Isn't  it  the  right  thing  to  do?" 

*'Yes,"  said  Dr.  Tucker,  still  looking  al 


Disclosing  A  Plan  93 

Betti'e's  mother,  who  was  nodding  her  ap- 
proval, "  I  shouldn't  be  surprised  if  it  might 
prove  a  very  good  thing  to  do.  Your  idea 
of  making  it  a  surprise  to  both  of  them  is  a 
good  one,  too.  I  should  keep  it  the  darkest 
kind  of  a  secret  until  the  very  last  moment 
if  I  were  you." 

"Yes,"  agreed  Mrs.  Tucker,  "I  should 
certainly  keep  it  a  secret." 

Jean,  too,  happened  to  mention  the  matter 
at  home  and  with  very  much  the  same  re- 
sult. Mr.  Mapes  looked  at  Mrs.  Mapes 
with  something  in  his  eye  that  very  closely 
resembled  an  amused  twinkle,  and  Jean  was 
almost  certain  that  there  was  an  answering 
twinkle  in  her  mother's  eye. 

"What's  the  joke?"  asked  Jean. 

"I  couldn't  think  of  spoiling  it  by  tell- 
ing," said  Mrs.  Mapes.  "If  there's  any- 
thing I  can  do  to  help  you  with  your  dinner 
party  I  shall  be  delighted  to  do  it." 

"Oh,  will  you?"  cried  Jean.  "When 
I  told  you  about  it  last  week  I  thought,  some- 


94  Dandelion  Cottage 

way,  that  you  weren't  very  much  inter- 
ested." 

"I'm  very  much  interested  indeed,"  re* 
turned  Mrs»  Mapes.  "  I  hope  you'll  be  able 
to  keep  the  surprise  part  of  it  a  secret  to  the 
very  last  moment.  That's  always  the  best 
part  of  a  dinner  party,  you  know." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Mapes,  "  if  you  know 
who  the  other  guests  are  to  be  it  always 
takes  away  part  of  the  pleasure." 

When  Marjory  told  the  news,  her  Aunty 
Jane,  who  seldom  smiled  and  who  usually 
appeared  to  care  very  little  about  the  doings 
in  Dandelion  Cottage,  greatly  surprised  her 
niece  by  suddenly  displaying  as  many  as 
seven  upper  teeth;  she  showed,  too,  such 
flattering  interest  in  the  coming  event  that 
Marjory  plucked  up  courage  to  ask  for  po- 
tatoes and  other  provisions  that  might  prove 
useful. 

"When  you've  decided  what  day  you're 
going  to  have  your  party,"  said  Aunty  Jane, 
with  astonishing  good  nature,  "  I'll  give  or 


Disclosing  A  Plan  9; 

lend  you  anything  you  want,  provided  you 
don't  tell  either  of  your  guests  who  the  other 
one  is  to  be." 

When  Mabel  told  about  the  plan,  she  too, 
was  very  much  perplexed  at  the  way  her 
news  was  received.  Her  parents,  after  one 
speaking  glance  at  each  other,  leaned  back 
in  their  chairs  and  laughed  until  the  tears 
rolled  down  their  cheeks.  But  they,  too, 
heartily  approved  cf  the  dinner  party  and 
advised  strict  secrecy  regarding  the  guests. 

School  was  out,  and,  as  Bettie  said,  every- 
day was  Saturday,  but  the  days  were  slip- 
ping away  altogether  too  rapidly.  The 
lawn,  by  this  time,  was  covered  with  what 
Mabel  called  "  real  grass,"  great  bunches  of 
Jean's  sweetest  purple  pansies  had  to  be 
picked  every  morning  so  they  wouldn't  go 
to  seed,  and  the  long  bed  by  the  fence  threat- 
ened to  burst  at  any  moment  into  blossom. 
Even  the  much-disturbed  vegetable  garden 
was  doing  so  nicely  that  it  was  possible  to 
tell  the  lettuce  from  the  radish  plants. 


96  Dandelion  Cottage 

Two  of  Miss  Blossom's  three  weeks  had 
gone.  She  herself,  was  to  leave  town  the 
following  Thursday  and  the  dinner  party 
was  to  take  place  the  day  after ;  but  even  the 
thought  of  the  great  event  failed  to  keep  the 
little  cottagers  quite  cheerful,  for  they  hated 
to  think  of  losing  their  lovely  lodger. 
Whenever  this  charming  young  person  was 
not  busy  at  one  or  another  of  the  various 
churches  with  her  father,  she  was  playing 
with  the  children.  "Just  exactly,"  said 
Bettie,  "  as  if  she  were  just  twelve  years  old, 
too."  Her  clever  fingers  made  dresses  for 
each  of  the  four  biggest  dolls,  and  such  cun- 
ning baby  bonnets  for  each  of  the  four  lit- 
tlest ones. 

Best  of  all,  she  taught  the  girls  how  to 
do  a  great  many  things.  She  showed  them 
how  to  turn  the  narrowest  of  hems,  how  to 
gather  a  ruffle  neatly,  and  how  to  take  the 
tiniest  of  stitches.  Bettie,  who  had  to  help 
with  the  weekly  darning,  and  Marjory,  who 
had  to  mend  her  own  stockings,  actually 


Disclosing  A  Plan  97 

found  it  pleasant  work  after  Miss  Blossom 
had  shown  them  several  different  ways  of 
weaving  the  threads. 

"  I  just  wish,"  cried  Mabel,  one  day,  in 
a  burst  of  gratitude,  "  that  you'd  fall  ill,  or 
something  so  we  could  do  something  for 
you.    You're  just  lovely  to  us," 

**  Thank  you,  Mabel,"  said  Miss  Blossom, 
with  eyes  that  twinkled  delightedly,  "I'm 
sure  you'd  take  beautiful  care  of  me  —  I'm 
almost  tempted  to  try  it.  Shall  I  have 
measles,  or  just  plain  smallpox?  ** 


CHAPTER  IX 

An  TIlnerpecteD  Crop  ®t  2)andelion6 

IN  spite  of  the  prospect  of  losing  her, 
the  last  week  of  Miss  Blossom's  stay 
was  a  delightful  one  to  the  girls  because  so 
many  pleasant  things  happened.  The  best 
of  all  concerned  the  cottage  dining-room. 

This  room  had  proved  the  hardest  spot 
in  the  house  to  make  attractive,  for  it  seemed 
to  resist  all  efforts  to  make  a  well  furnished 
room  of  it.  Most  of  the  faded  paper  was 
loose  and  much  of  it  had  dropped  off  in 
patches  during  the  time  that  the  cottage  was 
vacant,  showing  the  ugly,  dark,  painted  wall 
underneath.  It  was  only  too  evident  that 
the  pictures  that  the  girls  had  fastened  up 
carefully  with  pins  had  been  put  up  for  pur- 
poses of  concealment,  the  ceiling  was  stained 

and  dingy,  and  the  rug  was  far  too  small 
08 


An  Unexpected  Crop        99 

to  cover  the  floor  where  some  industrious 
former  occupant  had  daubed  paint  of  various 
gaudy  hues  while  trying,  perhaps,  to  find 
the  right  shade  for  the  woodwork. 

Moreover,  what  little  furniture  there  was 
in  the  dining  room  showed  very  plainly  that 
it  had  not  been  intended  originally  for  din- 
ing room  use ;  the  buffet,  in  particular,  pro- 
claimed loudly  in  big  black  letters  that  it 
was  nothing  but  a  soap  box,  and  Bettie's 
best  efforts  could  not  make  anything  else 
of  it.  Now  that  the  day  for  the  long  post- 
poned dinner  party  was  actually  set,  the 
girls'  attention  was  more  than  ever  directed 
toward  the  forlorn  appearance  of  the  little 
dining  room. 

"Dear  me,"  said  Bettie,  one  day  when 
the  fivQ  friends,  seated  around  the  table, 
were  cutting  out  pictures  for  a  wonderful 
scrap-book  for  the  little  lame  boy  that  Miss 
Blossom  had  discovered  living  near  one  of 
the  churches,  "  I  do  wish  this  dining  room 
didn't  look  so  sort  of  bedroomy." 


lOO  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  Yes,"  said  Jean,  "  I've  tried  putting  the 
buffet  in  every  corner  and  all  around  the 
walls,  and  it  won't  look  like  an3rthing  but  a 
wooden  box." 

"  I  tried  covering  it  with  a  gathered  cur- 
tain," said  Mabel,  "  but  that  made  it  look  so 
like  a  washstand  that  I  took  it  off  again." 

"  Why ! "  exclaimed  Miss  Blossom, 
"you've  given  me  a  beautiful  idea.  I  be- 
lieve we  could  make  a  splendid  sideboard 
out  of  that  piano  box  that's  so  in  our  way 
on  the  back  porch.  We'd  just  have  to  saw 
the  ends  down  a  little,  nail  on  some  boards, 
paint  it  some  plain,  dark  color  and  spread  a 
towel  over  the  top,  and  we'd  have  a  beauti- 
ful Flemish  oak  sideboard.  I'll  buy  the  can 
of  paint." 

"I'll  do  the  painting,"  said  Jean.  "I 
helped  mother  paint  our  kitchen  floor  so  I 
know  a  little  about  it." 

"  That  would  be  lovely.  I've  been  think- 
ing, too,  that  it  would  be  a  good  idea  to  fix 
a  little  shelf  under  this  window  to  hold  your 


An  Unexpected  Crop       loi 

petunia  and  these  two  geraniums  that  are 
suffering  so  for  sunshine.  I  think  I  could 
make  it  from  the  boards  in  that  soap  box." 

"  Oh,  thank  you !  "  cried  Bettie,  "  I  don't 
believe  there's  anything  you  don't  know  how 
to  do." 

The  piano-box,  transformed  by  Miss 
Blossom  and  the  four  girls  into  a  very  good 
imitation  of  a  Flemish  oak  sideboard,  did 
indeed  make  such  an  imposing  piece  of  fur- 
niture that  the  rest  of  the  room  looked  shab- 
bier than  ever  by  contrast. 

"  I'm  afraid,"  said  Miss  Blossom,  survey- 
ing the  effect,  with  an  air  of  comical  dismay, 
"that  the  rest  of  our  dining  room  really 
looks  worse  than  it  did  before.  It's  like 
trying  to  wear  a  new  hat  with  an  old  gown ; 
but  I'm  proud  of  our  handiwork." 

"  Yes,"  said  Jean,  "  it's  a  great  deal  more 
like  a  sideboard  than  it  is  like  a  piano-box." 

"It's  the  sideboardiest  sideboard  I  ever 
saw,"  said  Mabel,  "  but  it's  certainly  too  fine 
for  this  room." 


102  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  Never  mind,"  said  cheerful  Bettie, 
"we'll  let  Mr.  Black  sit  so  he  can  see  the 
sideboard  and  we'll  have  Mrs.  Crane  face 
the  geraniums  on  that  cunning  shelf.  If 
their  eyes  begin  to  wander  around  the  room 
we'll  just  call  their  attention  to  the  things 
we  want  them  to  see  —  when  mamma  enter- 
tains the  sewing  society  she  always  invites 
the  first  one  that  comes  to  sit  in  the  chair 
over  the  hole  in  the  sitting-room  rug  so  the 
others  won't  notice  it.  If  we  catch  Mr. 
Black  looking  at  the  ceiling  we'll  say: 
*  Oh,  Mr.  Black,  did  you  notice  the  flowers 
on  the  sideboard  ?  '  " 

Everybody  laughed  at  Bettie's  comical 
idea.  This  desperate  measure,  however, 
was  not  needed,  for  one  afternoon,  the  day 
after  the  sideboard  was  finished,  something 
happened,  something  lovelier  than  the  girls 
had  ever  even  dreamed  could  happen. 

It  was  only  three  o'clock,  yet  there  was 
Miss  Blossom  coming  home  two  whole 
hours  earlier  than  usual;  her  white-haired 


An  Unexpected  Crop       J03 

father  was  with  her  and  under  his  arm  in  a 
long  parcel  were  seven  rolls  of  wall  paper. 

"  My  contribution  to  the  cottage,"  said 
Mr.  Blossom,  laying  the  bundle  at  Bettie's 
feet,  and  smiling  pleasantly  at  the  row  of 
girls  on  the  doorstep. 

"  It's  paper  for  the  dining  room,"  ex- 
plained Miss  Blossom.  "  We  happened  to 
pass  a  store,  on  our  way  to  work  this  noon, 
where  they  were  advertising  a  sale  of  odd 
rolls  of  very  nice  paper  at  only  five  cents  a 
roll.  There  were  two  rolls  that  were  just 
righ'.  for  the  ceiling  and  five  rolls  for  the 
side  wall.  It  seemed  just  exactly  the  right 
thing  for  Dandelion  Cottage,  so  we  couldn't 
help  buying  it." 

**  It  would  have  been  wicked,"  said  Mr. 
Blossom,  cutting  the  string  about  the  bun- 
dle, "  not  to  buy  such  suitable  paper  at  sudu 
a  ridiculous  price." 

"  Oh !  oh ! "  cried  the  delighted  girls,  aS 
Mr.  Blossom  held  up  a  roll  for  inspection, 
"  It  might  have  been  made  for  this  house  1  ^ 


I04         Dandelion  Cottage 

"  Dandelion  blossoms  in  yellow,  with 
such  lovely  soft  green  leaves,"  said  Bettie, 
"  and  such  a  lovely,  light  creamy  back- 
ground.    Oh !  what's  that  ?  " 

"  That's  the  border,"  replied  Miss  Blos- 
som. "  See  how  graceful  the  pattern  is,  and 
how  saucily  those  dandelions  hold  their 
heads.  Show  them  the  ceiling  paper,  fa- 
ther." 

"Oh!"  cried  Mabel,  "just  picked-off 
dandelions  scattered  all  over  an  ocean  of 
milk  —  how  pretty !  " 

"We'll  have  the  Village  Improvement 
Society  after  us,"  laughed  Marjory. 
**  They  don't  allow  a  dandelion  to  show  its 
head." 

"I  love  dandelions,"  said  Miss  Blossom; 
**  real  ones,  I  mean ;  they're  such  gay,  cheer- 
ful things  and  such  a  beautiful  colour." 

"  I  love  them,  too,"  said  Jean,  "  because 
you  know,  they  paid  our  rent  for  us.'* 

"But,"  said  Mabel,  "I'm  thankful  we 
haven't  got  to  dig  all  these  dandelions." 


An  Unexpected  Crop        105 

"  Now,"  said  Miss  Blossom,  "  we  must 
go  right  to  work.  If  everybody  will  help, 
father  and  I  will  put  it  on  for  you.  You 
needn't  be  afraid  to  trust  us,  because,  last 
Spring,  we  papered  our  two  biggest  rooms,, 
and  they  really  looked  almost  professional 
except  for  one  strip  that  father  got  upside 
down;  but  your  dining  room  will  be  in  no 
danger  on  that  score,  for  father  never  makes 
the  same  mistake  twice.  Jean,  you  and 
Mabel  can  move  all  the  furniture  except  the 
table  and  sideboard  into  the  kitchen  —  we'll 
have  to  stand  on  the  table.  Bettie,  take 
down  all  the  pictures.  Father,  you  can  be 
trimming  the  ceiling  paper  here  on  the  side- 
board while  Marjory  starts  a  fire  in  the 
kitchen  stove  so  I  can  have  hot  water  for 
my  paste  —  we'll  have  our  wall  covered  with 
dandelions  in  just  no  time." 

"  Now,"  said  Mr.  Blossom,  when  the  fur- 
niture was  out  and  the  pictures  were  all 
down,  "  we  must  dig  the  soil  up  well  or  our 
dandelions  won't  grow.    Everybody  must 


lob  Dandelion  Cottage 

tear  as  much  as  she  can  of  this  old  paper  ofif 
the  wall;  it's  so  ragged  it  comes  off  very 
easily." 

**  The  roof  used  to  leak,  but  my  brother 
Rob  unrolled  some  tin  cans/'  said  Bettie, 
•*  and  nailed  them  over  the  place  where  the 
truly  shingles  are  gone,  and  it  never  leaked 
a  mite  the  last  four  times  it  rained." 

**The  plaster  seems  fairly  good,"  said 
Mr.  Blossom.  "  I  could  mend  these  holes 
with  a  little  plaster-of-paris  if  some  obliging 
young  lady  would  run  with  this  dime  to  the 
drug  store  for  ten  cents'  worth." 

"  I'll  go,"  said  Mabel.  "  I  don't  think  I 
like  peeling  walls." 

"  Mabel,"  said  Miss  Blossom,  "  isn't  real- 
ly fond  of  work,  but  I  notice  that  she  usually 
does  her  share.'* 

Everybody  helped  to  mend  the  cracks,  and 
everybody  watched  with  breathless  interest 
to  see  the  first  long  strip,  upheld  by  Mr. 
Blossom  and  guided  by  Miss  Blossom  and 
the  cottage  broom,  go  into  place. 


Ai7   Unexpected  Crop        107 

"  Wouldn't  it  be  awful,"  whispered  Ma- 
bel, "  if  it  shouldn^t  stick?  " 

But  it  did  stick  smooth  and  flat,  and  the 
paper  was  even  prettier  on  the  wall  than  it 
had  been  in  the  roll. 

"  A  side  strip  next,  father,  so  we  can  see 
how  it's  going  to  look,"  pleaded  Miss  Blos- 
som.    "  Remember,  we're  just  children." 

At  five  o'clock,  when  half  of  the  ceiling 
and  one  side  of  the  wall  were  finished,  the 
front  door  was  opened  abruptly. 

"  Hi  there ! "  said  Mr.  Black,  putting  his 
head  in  at  the  dining-room  door,  "why 
don't  you  listen  when  I  ring  your  bell  ?  Is 
that  dinner  of  mine  ready?  I'm  losing  ai 
pound  a  day." 

*'  No,"  said  Bettie,  jumping  down  from 
her  perch  on  the  sideboard,  "  but  it  will  be 
next  Friday.  We*re  getting  it  ready  just 
ds  fast  as  ever  we  can.  We're  even  paper- 
ing the  dining-room  for  the  occasion." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Black,  "  I  just  stopped 
in  to  say  that  unless  you  could  give  me  that 


lo8  Dandelion  Cottage 

dinner  this  very  minute,  I  shall  have  to  go 
hungry  for  the  next  five  weeks." 

"  Oh! "  cried  Bettie,  in  dismay,  "  why?  " 

"Because  I'm  going  to  Washington  to- 
night by  the  six  o'clock  train  and  I  shall  be 
gone  a  whole  month  —  perhaps  longer." 

"Oh  dear,"  cried  Bettie,  "we  just 
couldn't  have  you,  to-night.  We're  paper- 
ing the  dining-room  and  besides  we  haven't 
a  single  thing  to  eat  but  some  stale  cake  that 
Mrs.  Pike  gave  us." 

"I  strongly  suspect,"  said  Mr.  Black, 
smiling  over  Bettie's  head,  at  Mr.  Blossom, 
*'  that  you  don't  really  want  me  to  dinner." 

"Oh,  we  do,  we  do,"  assured  Bettie, 
earnestly,  "  but  we  just  can't  have  company 
to-night.  If  you'll  just  let  us  know  exactly 
when  you're  coming  home,  you'll  find  a 
beautiful  dinner  ready  for  you." 

"All  right,"  said  Mr.  Black,  "I'll  tele^ 
graph.  I'll  say:  *My  dear  Miss  Betty- 
kins,  of  Dandelion  Cottage:  It  will  give 
me  great  pleasure  to  dine  with  you  to-mor- 


An  Unexpected  Crop       109 

row  —  or  would  you  rather  have  me  say  the 
day  after  to-morrow?  —  evening.  Yours 
most  devotedly  and-so- forth.'  " 

"  Yes,  yes/'  cried  Bettle,  "  that  will  be  all 
right,  but  you  must  give  us  three  days  to 
get  ready  in." 

After  all,  however,  it  was  Mabel  that  sent 
the  telegram,  and  it  was  a  very  different  one. 


CHAPTER  X 

Cbanges  IFn  CTbe  1Rclgbborboo& 

WHEN  the  little  dining-room  was  fin- 
ished it  was  quite  the  prettiest  room 
in  the  house,  for  the  friendly  Blossoms  had 
painted  the  battered  woodwork  a  delicate 
green  to  match  the  leaves  in  the  paper ;  and 
by  mixing  what  was  left  of  the  green  paint 
with  the  remaining  colour  left  from  the 
sideboard,  clever  Miss  Blossom  obtained  a 
shade  that  was  exactly  right  for  as  much 
of  the  floor  as  the  rug  did  not  cover.  Of 
course  all  the  neighbours  and  all  the  girls' 
relatives  had  to  come  in  afterwards  to  see 
what  Bettie  called  "  The  very  dandelioniest 
room  in  Dandelion  Cottage." 

It    seemed    to    the    girls    that    the    time 

fairly  galloped  from  Monday  to  Thursday. 
xio 


Neighborhood  Changes      ill 

They  were  heartily  sorry  when  the  moment 
came  for  them  to  lose  their  pleasant  lodger. 
They  went  to  the  train  to  see  the  last  of  her 
and  to  assure  her  for  the  thousandth  time 
that  they  should  never  forget  her.  Mabel 
sobbed  audibly  at  the  moment  of  parting, 
and  large  tears  were  rolling  down  silent 
Bettie's  cheeks.  Even  the  seven  dollars  and 
fifty  cents  that  the  girls  had  handled  with 
such  delight  that  morning  paled  into  insig- 
nificance beside  the  fact  that  the  train  was 
actually  whisking  their  beloved  Miss  Blos- 
som away  from  them.  When  she  had  paid 
for  her  lodging  she  advised  her  four  land- 
ladies to  deposit  the  money  in  the  bank  until 
time  for  the  dinner  party  and  the  girls  did 
so,  but  even  the  importance  of  owning  a 
bank  account  failed  to  console  them  for  their 
^£>ss.  The  train  out  of  sight,  the  sober  little 
procession  wended  its  way  to  Dandelion 
Cottage  but  the  cosey  little  house  seemed 
strangely  silent  and  deserted  when  Bettie 
unlocked  the  door.     Mabel,  who  had  wept 


112  Dandelion  Cottage 

stormily  all  the  way  home,  sat  down  heav- 
ily on  the  doorstep,  and  wept  afresh. 

Pinned  to  a  pillow  on  the  parlour  couch, 
Jean  discovered  a  little  folded  square  of 
paper  addressed  to  Bettie,  who  was  drum- 
ming a  sad  little  tune  on  the  window  pane. 

"Why  Bettie!"  cried  Jean,  "this  looks 
like  a  note  for  you  from  Miss  Blossom.  Do 
read  it  and  tell  us  what  she  says." 

"It  says,"  read  Bettie:  "'My  dearest 
of  Betties:  Thank  you  for  being  so  nice 
to  me.  There's  a  telephone  message  for 
you.' " 

"  I  wonder  what  it  means,"  said  Marjory. 

Bettie  ran  to  the  talkless  telephone,  slipped 
her  hand  inside  the  little  door  at  the  top,  and 
found  a  small  square  parcel  wrapped  in  tis- 
sue paper,  tied  with  a  pink  ribbon  and  ad- 
dressed to  Miss  Bettie  Tucker,  Dandelion 
Cottage.  Bettie  hastily  undid  the  wrap- 
pings and  squealed  with  delight  when  she 
saw  the  lovely  little  handkerchief,  bordered 
delicately  with  lace,  that  Miss  Blossom  her- 


Neighborhood  Changes      113 

self  had  made  for  her.  There  was  a  dain- 
tily embroidered  "  B  **  in  the  comer  to  make 
it  Bettie's  very  own. 

Marjory  happened  upon  Jean's  note  peep- 
mg  out  from  under  a  book  on  the  parlour 
table.  It  said :  "  Dear  Jean :  Don't  you 
think  it's  time  for  you  to  look  at  the  kitchen 
clock?" 

Of  course  everybody  rushed  to  the  kitchen 
to  see  Jean  take  from  inside  the  case  of  the 
tickless  clock  a  lovely  handkerchief  just  like 
Bettie's  except  that  it  was  marked  with  "  J.'* 

Marjory's  note,  which  she  presently  found 
growing  on  the  crimson  petunia  sent  her 
flying  to  the  grindless  coffee-mill  where  she, 
too,  found  a  similar  gift. 

"  Well,"  said  Mabel,  who  was  now  fairly 
cheerful,  "  I  wonder  if  she  forgot  all  about 
me." 

For  several  anxious  moments  the  girls 
searched  eagerly  in  Mabel's  behalf  but  no 
note  was  visible. 

**I  can't  think  where  It  could  be,^  said 


114         Dandelion  Cottage 

housewifely  Jean,  stooping  to  pick  up  a  bit 
of  string  from  the  dining-room  rug,  and 
winding  it  into  a  little  ball.  "IVe  looked 
in  every  room  and  — Why!  what  a  long 
string!  I  wonder  where  it's  all  coming 
from/' 

*'  Under  the  rug,"  said  Marjory,  making 
a  dive  for  the  bit  of  paper  that  dangled  from 
the  end  of  the  string.  **  Here*s  your  note, 
Mabel/' 

*'I  think,"  wrote  Miss  Blossom,  **tha1 
there  must  be  a  mouse  in  the  pantry  mouse- 
trap by  this  time." 

"Yes,"  shouted  Mabel,  a  moment  later, 
**  a  lovely  lace-edged  mouse  with  an  *  M  * 
on  it  —  no,  it's  *  M  B ' —  a  really  truly  mon- 
ogram, the  very  first  monogram  I  ever  had,** 

"  Why,  so  it  is,"  said  Marjory.  "  1  sup- 
pose she  did  that  so  we  could  tell  them  apart 
because  if  she'd  put  M  on  both  of  them  we 
wouldn't  have  known  which  was  which,** 

'*  Why,"  cried  Jean,  "  it's  nearly  an  hour 
since  the  train  left.    Wasn't  it  sweet  of  heir 


Neighborhood  Changes      115 

io  think  of  keeping  us  interested  so  we 
shouldn't  be  quite  so  lonesome,** 

**yes,"  said  Bettie,  "it  was  even  nicer 
than  our  lovely  presents  but  it  was  just  like 
her/* 

"Oh  dear,**  said  Mabel,  again  on  the 
verge  of  tears,  "I  wish  she  might  have 
stayed  forever.  Whaf  s  the  use  of  getting 
lovely  new  friends  if  you  have  to  go  and 
lose  them  the  very  next  minute?  She  was 
just  the  nicest  grown-up  little  girl  there  ever 
was  and  I'll  never  see  —  see  her  any— ^" 

"Look  out,  Mabel,"  warned  Marjory, 
"  if  you  cry  on  that  handkerchief  you'll  spoil 
that  monogram.  Miss  Blossom  didn't  in- 
tend these  for  crying-handkerchiefs  —  one 
good-sized  tear  would  soak  them." 

Miss  Blossom  was  not  the  only  friend 
the  girls  were  fated  to  lose  that  week. 
Grandma  Pike,  as  everybody  called  the 
pleasant  little  old  lady,  was  their  next-door 
neighbour  on  the  west  side  and  the  cottagers 
were  very  fond  of  her.    No  one  dreamed 


ii6         Dandelion  Cottage 

that  Mrs.  Pike  would  ever  think  of  going  to 
another  town  to  live;  but  about  ten  days 
before  Miss  Blossom  departed,  the  cheery 
old  lady  had  quite  taken  everybody's  breath 
away  by  announcing  that  she  was  going 
West,  just  as  soon  as  she  could  get  her 
things  packed,  to  live  with  her  married 
daughter. 

When  the  girls  heard  that  Grandma  Pike 
was  going  away  they  were  very  much  sur- 
prised and  not  at  all  pleased  at  the  idea  of 
losing  one  of  their  most  delightful  neigh- 
bours. At  Miss  Blossom's  suggestion,  they 
had  spent  several  evenings  working  on  a 
parting  gift  for  their  elderly  friend.  The 
gift,  a  wonderful  linen  traveling  case  with 
places  in  it  to  carry  everything  a  traveller 
would  be  likely  to  need,  was  finished  at  last 
—  with  so  many  persons  working  on  it,  it 
was  hard  to  keep  all  the  pieces  together — ■ 
and  the  girls  carried  it  to  Grandma  Pik^ 
who  seemed  very  much  pleased. 

"  Well,  well,"  said  the  delighted  old  lady, 


Neighborhood  Changes      117 

unrolling  the  parcel,  "  if  you  haven't  gone 
and  made  me  a  grand  slipper-bag  —  I'll 
think  of  you,  now,  every  time  I  put  on  my 
slippers." 

"  No,  no,"  protested  Jean.  "  It's  a  trav- 
elling case  with  places  in  it  for  'most  every- 
thing hut  slippers." 

"  We  all  sewed  on  it,"  explained  MabeL 
*'  Those  little  bits  of  stitches  that  you  can't 
see  at  all  are  Bettie's.  Jean  did  all  this 
feather-stitching  and  Marjory  hemmed  all 
the  binding.  Miss  Blossom  basted  it  to- 
gether so  it  wouldn't  be  crooked." 

"What  did  you  do,  Mabel?"  asked 
Grandma  Pike,  smiling  over  her  spectacles. 

"  I  took  out  the  basting  threads  and  em- 
broidered these  letters  on  the  pockets." 

"  What  does  this  '  P '  stand  for?  " 

"Pins,"  said  Mabel.  "You  see  it  was 
sort  of  an  accident.  I  started  to  embroider 
the  word  soap  on  this  little  pocket,  but  when 
I  got  the  S  O  A  done,  there  wasn't  any  room 
left  for  the  P,  so  I  just  put  it  on  the  next 


Ii8         Dandelion  Cottage 

pocket.  I  knew  that  if  I  explained  that  It 
was  the  end  of  *  Soap '  and  the  beginning  of 
*  Pins '  that  you'd  remember  not  to  get  your 
{uns  and  soap  mixed  up." 


CHAPTER  M 

DURING  the  lonely  days  immediatel]^ 
following  Miss  Blossom's  departure, 
Mrs.  Bartholomew  Crane  proved  a  great 
solace.  The  girls  had  somewhat  neglected 
her  during  the  preceding  busy  weeks;  but 
with  Miss  Blossom  gone,  the  cottagers  be- 
came conscious  of  an  aching  void  that  new 
wall  paper  and  lace  handkerchiefs  and  a 
bank  account  could  not  quite  fill;  so  pres- 
ently they  resumed  their  former  habit  of 
trotting  across  the  street  many  times  a  day 
to  visit  good-natured  Mrs.  Crane. 

Mrs.  Crane's  house  was  very  small  and 
looked  rather  gloomy  from  the  outside  be- 
cause the  paint  had  long  ago  peeled  off  and 

the  weatherbeaten  boards  had  grown  black 
"9 


I20  DandeKon  Cottage 

with  age;  but  inside  it  was  cheerfulness  per- 
sonified. First,  there  was  Mrs.  Crane  her- 
self, fairly  radiating  comfort.  Then  there 
was  a  bright  rag  carpet  on  the  floor,  a  glow- 
ing red  cloth  on  the  little  table,  a  lively  yel- 
low canary  named  Dicksy  in  one  window, 
and  a  gorgeous  red  and  crimson,  but  very 
bad  tempered  parrot  in  the  other.  There 
were  only  three  rooms  downstairs  and  two 
bed  chambers  upstairs.  Mrs.  Crane's  own 
room  opened  off  the  little  parlour  and  vis- 
itors could  see  the  high  feather  bed  always 
as  smooth  and  rounded  on  top  as  one  of 
Mrs.  Crane's  big  loaves  of  light  bread.  The 
privileged  girls  were  never  tired  of  examin- 
ing the  good  woman's  patchwork  quilts 
made  many  years  previously  of  minute, 
quaint  old-fashioned  scraps  of  calico. 

Even  the  garden  seemed  to  differ  from 
other  gardens,  for  every  inch  of  it  except 
the  patch  of  green  grass  under  the  solitary 
cherry  tree  was  given  over  to  flowers,  many 
of  them  as  quaint  and  old-fashioned  as  the 


Planning  For  Mrs.  Crane     121 

bits  of  calico  in  the  quilts,  and  to  vegetables 
that  ripened  a  week  earlier  for  Mrs.  Crane, 
than  similar  varieties  did  for  any  one  else. 
Yet  the  garden  was  so  little,  and  the  variety 
so  great,  that  Mrs.  Crane  never  had  enough 
of  any  one  thing  to  sell.  She  owned  her 
little  home,  but  very  little  else.  The  two 
upstairs  rooms  were  rented  to  lodgers,  and 
she  knitted  stockings  and  mittens  to  sell  be- 
cause she  could  knit  without  using  her  eyes, 
which,  like  so  many  soft,  bright  black  eyes, 
were  far  from  strong;  but  the  little  income 
so  gained  was  barely  enough  to  keep  stout, 
warm-hearted,  over-generous  Mrs.  Crane 
supplied  with  food  and  fuel.  The  neigh- 
bours often  wondered  what  would  become 
of  the  good,  lonely  woman  if  she  lost  hef 
lodgers,  if  her  eyes  failed  completely  or  if 
she  should  fall  ill.  Everybody  agreed  that 
Mrs.  Crane  should  have  been  a  wealthy 
woman  instead  of  a  poor  one,  because  she 
would  undoubtedly  have  done  so  much  good 
w^ith  her  money.    Mabel  had  heard  her  fa- 


122         Dandelion  Cottage 

ther  say  that  there  was  a  good-sized  mort- 
gage on  the  place,  and  Dr.  Bennett  had 
instantly  added:  "Now,  don't  you  say 
an3rthing  about  that,  Mabel,"  but  ever  after 
that,  Mabel  had  kept  her  eyes  open  during 
her  visits  to  Mrs.  Crane,  hoping  to  get  a 
glimpse  of  the  dreadful  large-sized  thing 
that  was  not  to  be  mentioned. 

On  one  occasion  she  thought  she  saw 
light.  Mrs.  Crane  had  expressed  a  fear 
that  a  wandering  pole-cat  had  made  a  home 
under  her  woodshed. 

"  Is  mortgage  another  name  for  pole- 
cat?" Mabel  had  asked  a  little  later. 

"  No,"  imaginative  Jean  had  replied,  **  a 
mortgage  is  more  like  a  great,  lean,  hungry, 
grey  wolf  waiting  just  around  the  comer 
to  eat  you  up.  Don't  ever  use  the  word  be- 
fore Mrs.  Crane ;  she  has  one." 

"Where  does  she  keep  it?"  demanded 
Mabel,  agog  with  interest. 

"I  promised  not  to  talk  about  it,"  said 
Jean,  "  and  I  won't." 


Planning  For  Mrs.   Crane     123 

Miss  Blossom  had  been  gone  only  two 
days  when  something  happened  to  Mrs. 
Crane.  It  was  none  of  the  things  that  the 
neighbours  had  expected  to  happen,  but,  for 
a  little  while,  it  looked  almost  as  serious, 
Bettie,  running  across  the  street  right  after 
breakfast,  one  morning,  with  a  bunch  of 
fresh  chickweed  for  the  yellow  canary,  and 
a  cracker  for  cross  Polly,  found  Mrs.  Crane, 
usually  the  most  cheerful  person  imaginable, 
sitting  in  her  kitchen  with  a  swollen,  crim- 
son foot  in  a  pail  of  luke-warm  water,  and 
groaning  dismally. 

"  Oh,  Mrs.  Crane ! "  cried  surprised  Bet- 
tie.  "What  in  the  world  is  the  matter? 
Are  —  are  you  coming  down  with  any- 
thing?'* 

"  I've  already  come,"  moaned  Mrs.  Crane, 
grimly.  "  I  was  out  in  my  back  yard  in  my 
thin  old  slippers  early  this  morning  putting 
hellebore  on  my  currant  bushes  and  I  stepped 
down  hard  on  the  teeth  of  the  rake  that  I'd 
dropped  on  the  grass.     There's  two  great 


124  Dandelion  Cottage 

holes  in  my  foot.  How  I'm  ever  going  to 
do  things  I  don't  know,  for  'twas  all  I  could 
do  to  crawl  into  the  house  on  my  hands  and 
knees." 

"  Isn't  there  something  I  can  do  for 
you  ?  "  asked  Bettie,  sympathetically. 

"  Could  you  get  a  stick  of  wood  from  the 
shed  and  make  me  a  cup  of  tea?  Maybe 
I'd  feel  braver  if  I  wasn't  so  empty." 

"  Of  course  I  could,"  said  Bettie,  cheer- 
ily. 

"  I  tell  you  what  it  is,"  confided  Mrs* 
Crane,  "  it's  real  nice  and  independent  liv* 
ing  all  alone  as  long  as  you're  strong  and 
well,  but  just  the  minute  anything  happens, 
there  you  are  like  a  Robinson  Crusoe,  cast; 
away  on  a  desert  isle.  I  began  to  think  nO" 
body  would  ever  come." 

"  Can't  I  do  something  more  for  you  ? '" 
asked  Bettie,  poking  scraps  of  paper  undet 
the  kettle  to  bring  it  to  a  boil.  "  Don't  yoti 
want  Dr.  Bennett  to  look  at  your  foot!: 
Hadn't  I  better  get  him?" 


Planning  For  Mrs.  Crane     125 

"Yes  do,"  said  Mrs.  Crane,  "and  then 
come  back.  I  can't  bear  to  think  of  staying 
here  alone." 

For  the  next  four  days  there  was  a  deep 
depression  in  the  middle  of  Mrs.  Crane's 
puffy  feather  bed  for  the  injured  foot  was 
badly  swollen  and  Mrs.  Crane  was  far  too 
heavy  to  go  hopping  about  on  the  other  one. 
At  first,  her  usually  hopeful  countenance 
wore  a  strained,  anxious  expression,  quite 
pathetic  to  see. 

"  Now  don't  you  worry  one  bit,"  said 
comforting  little  Bettie.  "We'll  take  turns 
staying  with  you ;  we'll  feed  Polly  and  Dick- 
sy,  and  I  believe  every  friend  you  have  is 
going  to  offer  to  make  broth.  Mother's 
making  some  this  minute." 

"  But  there's  the  lodgers,"  groaned  Mrs. 
Crane,  "  both  as  particular  as  a  pair  of  old 
maids  in  a  glass  case.  Mr.  Barlow  wants 
his  bed-clothes  tucked  in  all  around  so  tight 
that  a  body'd  think  he  was  afraid  of  rolling 
out  of  bed  nights,  and  Mr.  Bailey  won't 


126  Dandelion  Cottage 

have  his  tucked  in  at  all  —  says  he  likes  'em 
'floating  round  loose  and  airy/  Do  you 
suppose  you  girls  can  make  those  two  beds 
and  not  get  those  two  lodgers  mixed  up? 
I  declare,  I'm  so  absent-minded  myself  that 
I've  had  to  climb  those  narrow  stairs  many 
a  day  to  make  sure  I'd  done  it  right." 

"  Don't  be  afraid,"  said  Jean,  who  had 
joined  Bettie.  "  Marjory's  Aunty  Jane  has 
taught  her  to  make  beds  beautifully,  and  I 
have  a  good  memory.  Between  us  we'll 
manage  splendidly." 

"But  there's  my  garden,"  mourned  the 
usually  busy  woman,  who  found  it  hard  to 
lie  still  with  folded  hands  in  a  world  that 
seemed  to  be  constantly  needing  her. 
"  Dear  me !  I  don't  see  how  I'm  going  to 
spare  myself  for  a  whole  week  just  when 
everything  is  growing  so  fast." 

"We'll  tend  to  the  garden,  too,"  prom- 
ised Bettie. 

"Yes,  indeed  we  will,"  echoed  Mabel 
"  We'll  water  everything  and  weed ^^ 


Planning  For  Mrs.   Crane      127 

"  No  you  won't,"  said  Mrs.  Crane,  quick- 
ly. "  You  can  do  all  the  watering  you  like, 
but  if  I  catch  any  of  you  weeding,  there'll 
be  trouble." 

The  young  cottagers  were  even  better 
than  their  promises,  for  they  took  excellent 
care  of  Mrs.  Crane,  the  lodgers,  the  parrot, 
the  canary  and  the  garden,  until  the  injured 
foot  was  well  again ;  but  while  doing  all  this 
they  learned  something  that  distressed  them 
very  much  indeed.  Of  course  they  had  al- 
ways known  in  a  general  way  that  their 
friend  was  far  from  being  wealthy,  but  they 
had  not  guessed  how  touchingly  poor  she 
really  was.  But  now  they  saw  that  her  cup- 
board was  very  scantily  filled,  that  her  cloth- 
ing was  very  much  patched  and  mended,  her 
shoes  distressingly  worn  out  and  that  even 
her  dish-towels  were  neatly  darned. 

"  But  we  won't  talk  about  it  to  people," 
said  fine-minded  Jean.  "  Perhaps  she 
wouldn't  like  to  have  everybody  know." 

Even  Jean,  however^  did  not  guess  what 


128  Dandelion  Cottage 

a  comfort  proud  Mrs.  Crane  had  found  it 
to  have  her  warm-hearted  little  friends  stand 
between  her  poverty  and  the  sometimes-too- 
prying  eyes  of  a  grown-up  world. 

Unobservant  as  they  had  seemed,  the  girls 
did  not  forget  about  the  Mother-Hubbard- 
like  state  of  Mrs.  Crane's  cupboard.  After 
that  one  of  their  finest  castles  in  Spain  al- 
ways had  Mrs.  Crane,  who  would  have 
made  such  a  delightful  mother  and  who  had 
never  had  any  children,  enthroned  as  its 
gracious  mistress.  When  they  had  time  to 
think  about  it  at  all,  it  always  grieved  them 
to  think  of  their  generous  natured,  no- 
longer-young  friend  dreading  a  poverty- 
stricken,  loveless  and  perhaps  homeless  old 
age,  for  that,  they  had  discovered,  was  pre- 
cisely what  Mrs.  Crane  was  doing. 

"  If  she  were  a  little,  thin,  active  old  lady, 
with  bobbing  white  curls  like  Grandma 
Pike,"  said  Jean,  "  lots  of  people  would  have 
a  corner  for  her ;  but  poor  Mrs.  Crane  takes 
tip  so  much  room  and  is  so  heavy  and  slow 


Planning  For  Mrs.  Crane     129 

that  she's  going  to  be  hard  to  take  care  oi 
when  she  gets  old.  Oh  why  couldn't  she 
have  had  just  one  strong,  kind  son  to  take 
care  of  her  ?  " 

"When  I'm  married,"  offered  Mabel, 
generously,  "  I'll  take  her  to  live  with  me. 
I  won't  have  any  husband  if  he  doesn't 
promise  to  take  Mrs.  Crane,  too." 

**  You  shan't  have  her,"  declared  Jean. 
"  I  want  her  myself." 

"She's  already  promised  to  me,"  said 
Bettie,  triumphantly.  "  We're  going  to 
keep  house  together  some  place,  and  I'm 
going  to  be  an  old-maid  kindergarten  teach- 
er." 

"  I  don't  think  that's  fair,  Bettie  Tucker,'* 
said  Marjory,  earnestly.  "  I  don't  see  how 
my  children  are  to  have  any  grandmother 
if  she  doesn't  live  with  me.  Imagine  the 
poor  little  things  with  Aunty  Jane  for  a 
grandmother  1" 


CHAPTER  XII 

^e  Coming  Qt  c;be  /ftflUgane 

TO  the  moment  of  Grandma  Pike's 
departure,  all  their  neighbours  had 
been  so  pleasant  that  the  girls  were  deceived 
into  thinking  that  neighbours  were  never 
anything  but  pleasant.  Although  they  felt 
not  the  slightest  misgiving  as  to  their  future 
neighbours,  they  had  hated  to  lose  dear  old 
Grandma  Pike,  who  had  always  been  as 
good  to  them  as  if  she  had  really  been  their 
grandmother,  and  whose  parting  gifts,  sun- 
dry odds  and  ends  of  dishes,  old  magazines 
and  broken  parcels  of  provisions,  gave  them 
occupation  for  many  delightful  days.  In 
spite  of  the  lasting  pleasure  of  this  unex- 
pected donation,  however,  they  could  not 
help  feeling  that,  with  Mr.  Black  away.  Miss 

Blossom  gone,  Mrs.  Pike  living  in  another 
130 


The  Coming  Of  The  Milligans    131 

town  and  only  disabled  Mrs.  Crane  left,  they 
were  losing  friends  with  alarming  rapidity. 
Grief  for  the  departed,  however,  did  not  pre- 
vent their  taking  an  active  interest  in  the 
persons  that  were  to  occupy  the  house  next 
door,  which  Mrs.  Pike's  departure  had  left 
vacant. 

"I  wonder,"  said  Marjory,  pulling  the 
curtain  back  to  get  a  better  view  of  the 
empty  house,  "  what  the  new  people  will  be 
like.  It's  exciting,  isn't  it,  to  have  some- 
thing happening  in  this  quiet  neighbour- 
hood? What  did  Grandma  Pike  say  the 
name  was?" 

"  MilHgan,"  replied  Bettie. 

"Kind  of  nice  name,  isn't  it?"  asked 
Jean. 

"Yes,"  agreed  Mabel,  brightening  sud- 
denly. "I  made  up  a  long,  long  rhyme 
about  It  last  night  before  I  went  to  sleep. 
Want  to  hear  it?" 

"  Of  course." 

"This   one   really   rhymes,"    explained 


S32  Dandelion  Cottage 

Mabel,  importantly.     Her  verses  sometimes 

lacked  that  desirable  quality  so  when  they 

did  rhyme  Mabel  always  liked  to  mention  it. 

"  Here  it  is : 

As  soon  as  a  man  named  Milligan 

Got   well    he    always    fell    ill   again  —  ill 

again  —  ill 

Dear  me,  I  can't  remember  how  it  went 
There  was  a  lot  more  but  Fve  forgotten  the 
rest." 

"  It's  a  great  pity,"  said  Marjory,  drily, 
"  that  you  didn't  forget  all  of  it,  because  if 
there's  really  a  Mr.  Milligan,  and  I  ever  see 
him,  I'll  think  of  that  rhyme  and  I  won't 
be  able  to  keep  my  face  straight" 

"We  must  be  very  polite  to  the  Milli- 
gans,"  said  considerate  Bettie,  "and  call 
on  them  as  soon  as  they  come.  Mother 
always  calls  on  new  people;  she  says  it 
makes  folks  feel  more  comfortable  to  be  wel- 
comed into  the  neighbourhood." 

"  Mrs.  Crane  does  it  too  —  we're  the 
nearest,  perhaps  we  ought  to  be  the  first" 


The  Coming  Of  The  Milligans   133 

"  I  think/'  suggested  Jean,  considerately, 
"we'd  better  wait  until  they're  nicely  set- 
tled ;  they  might  not  like  visitors  too  soon  — 
you  know  we  didn't." 

"  They're  going  to  move  in  to-day,"  said 
Mabel.  "  Goodness !  I  wish  they'd  hurry 
and  come;  I'm  so  excited  that  I  keep  dust- 
ing the  same  shelf  over  and  over  again  — 
I'm  just  wild  to  see  them." 

It  was  sweeping-day  at  the  cottage  when 
the  Milligans'  furniture  began  to  arrive,  but 
it  looked  very  much  as  if  the  sweeping 
would  last  for  at  least  two  days  because  the 
girls  were  unable  to  get  very  far  away  from 
the  windows  that  faced  west.  These  were 
the  bedroom  windows,  and,  as  there  were 
only  two  of  them,  there  were  usually  two 
heads  at  each  window. 

"  There  comes  the  first  load,"  announced 
Marjory,  at  last.  "  There's  a  high-chair  on 
the  very  top,  so  there  must  be  a  baby." 

"  Fm  so  glad,"  said  Bettie.  "  I  just  love 
a  baby." 


134  Dandelion   Cottage 

Two  men  unpacked  the  Milligans'  furni- 
ture in  the  MilHgans'  front  yard,  and  each 
load  seemed  more  interesting  than  the  last. 
It  was  such  fun  to  guess  what  the  big, 
clumsy  parcels  contained,  particularly  when 
the  contents  proved  to  be  quite  different 
from  what  the  girls  expected. 

"  Somehow,  I  don't  think  they're  going 
to  be  very  nice  people,"  said  Mabel,  "  I 
b'lieve  we're  going  to  be  disappointed  in 
em. 

"  Why,  Mabel,"  objected  Jean,  "  we  don't 
know  a  thing  about  them  yet." 

"  Yes,  I  do  too.  Their  things  —  look  — 
they  don't  look  ladylike/' 

"Oh,  Mabel,"  laughed  Marjory,  "you're 
so  funny." 

"  Perhaps,"  offered  Jean,  "  the  Milligans 
are  poor  and  the  children  have  spoiled 
things." 

"  No,"  insisted  Mabel,  "  they've  got  some 
of  the  newest  and  shiningest  furniture  I  ever 
8aw,  but  I  b'lieve  it's  imitation." 


The  Coming  Of  The  Milligans    135 

"  Oh,  Mabel,"  laughed  Jean,  "  I  hope  you 
won't  watch  the  loads  when  /  move.  For 
a  girl  that's  slept  for  three  weeks  on  an  imi- 
tation pillow,  you're  pretty  critical." 

Presently  the  Milligans  themselves  ar- 
rived. Mabel  happened  to  be  counting  the 
buds  on  the  poppy  plants  when  they  came. 

"  Girls ! "  she  cried,  rushing  into  the  cot- 
tage with  the  news,  "  They've  come.  I 
saw  them  all.  There's  a  Mr.  Milligan,  a 
Mrs.  Milligan,  a  girl,  a  boy,  a  baby  and  a 
dog.  The  girl's  the  oldest.  She's  just 
about  my  size  —  I  mean  height  —  and  she 
has  straight,  light  hair.  The  baby  walks 
and  none  of  them  are  so  very  good-look- 
mg. 

It  did  not  take  the  newcomers  long  to 
discover  that  their  next-door  neighbours 
were  four  little  girls.  Mrs.  Milligan  found 
it  out  that  very  afternoon  when  she  went  to 
the  back  door  to  borrow  tea.  Bettie  ex- 
plained, very  politely,  that  Dandelion  Cot- 
tage was  only  a  playhouse,  and  that  their 


136  Dandelion  Cottage 

tea-caddy  contained  nothing  but  glass 
beads.  When  Mrs.  Milligan  returned  to 
her  own  house,  she  told  her  own  family 
about  it. 

"  You  might  as  well  run  over  and  play 
with  them,  Laura,"  she  said.  "  Take  the 
baby  with  you,  too.  He's  a  dreadful  nui- 
sance under  my  feet.  That'll  be  a  real  nice 
place  for  you  both  to  play  all  summer." 

The  girls  received  their  visitors  pleas- 
antly; almost,  indeed,  with  enthusiasm;  but 
after  a  very  few  moments,  they  began  to  eye 
the  baby  with  apprehension.  He  refused  to 
make  friends  with  them  but  wandered  about 
rather  lawlessly  and  handled  their  treasures 
roughly.  Laura  paid  no  attention  to  him 
but  talked  to  the  girls.  She  seemed  a  bright 
girl  and  not  at  all  bashful,  and  she  used  a 
great  many  slang  phrases  that  sounded  new, 
and  it  must  be  confessed,  rather  attractive 
to  the  girls. 

"  Oh  land,  yes,"  she  said,  "  we  came  here 
from  Chicago  where  we  had  all  kinds  of 


The  Coming  Of  The  Milligans   137 

money,  and  clothes  to  burn  —  we  lived  in  a 
beautiful  flat.  Pa  just  came  here  to  oblige 
Mr.  Williams  —  he's  going  to  clerk  in  Wil- 
liams's store.  Come  over  and  see  me-^ 
v^e'll  be  real  friendly  and  have  lots  of  good 
times  together  —  I  can  put  you  up  to  lots  of 
dodges.  Say,  this  is  a  dandy  place  to  play 
in  —  I'm  coming  over  often." 

Jean  looked  in  silence  at  Bettie,  Bettie  at 
Mabel  and  Mabel  at  Marjory.  Surely  such 
an  outburst  of  cordiality  deserved  a  fitting 
response,  but  no  one  seemed  to  be  able  to 
make  it. 

"Do,"  said  Jean,  finally,  but  rather 
feebly,  "  we'd  be  pleased  to  have  you." 


CHAPTER  Xm 

XLbc  "Clnplcasantness  ©f  Xaura 

EXCEPT  for  a  few  lively  but  good- 
natured  squabbles  between  Marjory, 
who  was  something  of  a  tease,  and  Mabel, 
who  was  Marjory's  favorite  victim,  the 
little  mistresses  of  Dandelion  Cottage  had 
always  played  together  in  perfect  harmony; 
but  with  the  coming  of  the  Milligans  every- 
thing was  changed. 

To  start  with,  between  the  Milligan  baby 
and  the  Milligan  dog,  the  girls  knew  no 
peace.  Mrs.  Milligan  was  right  when  she 
said  that  the  baby  was  a  nuisance,  for  it 
would  have  been  hard  to  find  a  more  trouble- 
some three-year-old.  He  pulled  down 
everything  he  could  reach,  broke  the  girls' 
best   dishes,   wiped   their   precious   petunia 

and  the  geraniums  completely  out  of  ex- 
138 


Unpleasant  Laura  139 

istence  and  roared  with  a  deep  bass  voice  if 
anyone  attempted  to  interfere  with  him. 
The  dog  carried  mud  into  the  neat  little  cot- 
tage, scratched  up  the  garden  and  growled 
if  the  girls  tried  to  drive  him  out. 

"  But/'  said  Mabel,  disconsolately,  in  one 
of  the  rare  moments  when  the  girls  were 
alone,  "  I  could  stand  the  baby  and  the  dog, 
but  I  can't  stand  Laura." 

"  Laura  certainly  likes  to  boss,"  said  Bet- 
tie,  who  looked  pale  and  worried.  "  I  don't 
just  see  what  we're  going  to  do  about  it. 
I  try  to  be  nice  to  her  but  I  can't  like  her. 
Mother  says  we  must  be  polite  to  her,  but 
I  don't  believe  mother  knows  just  what  a 
queer  girl  she  is  —  you  see  she's  always  as 
quiet  as  can  be  when  there  are  grown  people 
around." 

"Yes,"  agreed  Mabel,  "her  company 
manners  are  so  much  properer  than  mine 
that  mother  says  she  wishes  I  were  more 
\ike  her." 

"Well,"  said  Marjory,  uncompromising- 


140         Dandelion  Cottage 

ly,  "  I'm  mighty  glad  you're  not.  Your 
manners  aren't  particularly  good  but  you 
haven't  two  sets.  I  think  Laura's  the  most 
disagreeable  girl  I  ever  knew.  Just  as  she 
fools  you  into  almost  liking  her  she  turns 
around  and  scratches  you." 

"  Perhaps,"  said  Jean,  "  if  her  people 
were  nicer  —  by  the  way,  mother  says  that 
after  this  we  must  keep  the  windows  shut 
while  Mr.  Milligan  is  splitting  wood  in  his 
back  yard  so  we  can't  hear  the  awful  things 
he  says,  and  that  if  we  hear  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Milligan  quarreling  again  we  mustn't 
listen." 

"Lisen!"  exclaimed  Mabel,  "we  don't 
need  to  listen.  Their  voices  keep  getting 
louder  and  louder  until  it  seems  as  if  they 
were  right  in  this  house." 

"  Of  course,"  said  Marjory,  "  it  can't  be 
pleasant  for  Laura  at  home,  but,  dear  me, 
it  isn't  pleasant  for  us  with  her  over  here." 

Badly-brought-up  Laura  was  certainly 
not  a  pleasant  playmate.    She  wanted  to 


Unpleasant  Laura  141 

lead  in  everything  and  was  only  amiable 
when  she  was  having  her  own  way.  She 
was  not  satisfied  with  the  way  the  cottage 
was  arranged  but  re-arranged  it  to  suit  her* 
self.  She  told  the  girls  that  their  garments 
were  countrified,  and  laughed  scornfully  at 
Bettie's  boyish  frocks  and  heavy  shoes. 
She  ridiculed  rotund  Mabel  for  being  fat, 
said  that  Marjory's  nose  turned  up  and  that 
Jean's  rather  large  mouth  was  a  good  open- 
ing for  a  young  dentist.  Before  the  first 
week  was  fairly  over,  the  four  girls  who  had 
lived  so  happily  before  her  arrival,  were 
grieved,  indignant  or  downright  angry 
three- fourths  of  the  time. 

Laura  had  one  habit  that  annoyed  the 
girls  excessively,  although  at  first  they  had 
found  it  rather  amusing.  Later,  however, 
owing  perhaps  to  a  certain  rasping  quality 
in  Laura's  voice,  it  grew  very  tiresome. 
She  transposed  the  initials  of  their  names. 
For  instance,  Bettie  Tucker  became  Tettie 
Bucker,  Jeanie  Mapes  became  Meanie  Japes, 


142  Dandelion  Cottage 

while  Mabel  became  Babel  Mennett.  It 
was  particularly  distressing  to  have  Laura 
speak  familiarly  in  her  sharp,  half-scornful 
tones,  of  their  dear,  departed  Miss  Blossom, 
whose  name  was  Gertrude,  as  Bertie  Glos- 
som.  Mr.  Peter  Black,  of  course,  became 
Beter  Plack,  and  Mrs.  Bartholomew  Crane 
was  Mrs.  Cartholomew  Brane,  to  lawless 
young  Laura. 

"  I  don't  think  it's  exactly  respectful  to 
do  that  to  grown-up  people's  names,"  pro- 
tested Bettie,  one  day. 

"Pooh!"  said  Laura,  "Mrs.  Carthol- 
omew Brane  looks  just  like  an  old  washtub, 
she's  so  fat  —  who'd  be  respectful  to  a 
washtub  ?  There  goes  Toctor  Ducker,  Tet- 
tie  Bucker.  Huh!  I'd  hate  to  be  a  par- 
son's daughter  —  they're  always  as  poor  as 
church  mice.  What  did  you  say  your 
mother's  first  name  is?" 

"  I  didn't  say  and  I'm  not  going  to,"  re- 
turned Bettie. 

**  Well,  anyhow,  her  bonnet  went  out  of 


Unpleasant  Laura  143 

style  four  years  ago  —  I  should  think  the 
parish'd  take  up  a  subscription  and  get  her 
a  new  one." 

"  I  wish,  Laura,"  said  exasperated  Jean, 
another  day,  "that  you  wouldn't  meddle 
with  our  things.  This  bedroom  is  mine 
and  Bettie's  and  the  other  one  is  MabeFs 
and  Marjory's.  We  wouldn't  think  of 
looking  into  each  other's  private  treasure 
boxes.  I've  seen  you  open  mine  half  a 
dozen  times  this  week.  The  things  are  al! 
keepsakes  and  I'd  rather  not  have  them 
handled." 

"  Huh !  I  guess  I'll  handle  'em  if  I  want 
to.  My  mother  can't  keep  me  out  of  her 
bureau  drawers  and  I  don't  think  you're  so 
very  much  smarter." 

A  day  or  two  later,  the  girls  of  Dandelion 
Q)ttage  were  invited  to  a  party  in  another 
portion  of  the  town.  The  invitations  were 
left  at  their  own  cottage  door  and  the  de- 
lighted girls  began  at  once  to  make  plans 
for  the  party. 


144  Dandelion  Cottage 

"Let's  carry  our  new  handkerchiefs,** 
suggested  Jean,  going  to  her  treasure  box. 
"  I  believe  I'll  take  mine  home  with  me  —  I 
dreamed  last  night  that  the  cottage  was  on 
fire  and  that  mine  got  burned.  Besides,  I'll 
have  to  get  dressed  at  home  for  the  party 
and  it  would  be  handier  to  have  it  there." 

"  Guess  I  will,  too,"  said  Bettie. 

"Great  idea,"  said  Marjory,  taking  her 
own  box  from  its  shelf.  "  I  never  should 
have  thought  of  anything  so  bright.  Let's 
all  write  to  Miss  Blossom  and  tell  her  that 
we  carried  our  —  Why!  mine  isn't  in  my 
box!" 

"  Neither  is  mine,"  cried  Mabel,  who  had 
turned  quite  pale  at  the  discovery.  "  It  was 
there  this  morning  —  girls,  did  any  of  you 
touch  our  handkerchiefs  ?  " 

"  Of  course  we  didn't,"  said  Jean.  "  See, 
here's  mine  with  *  J '  on  it  and  there's  no 
others  in  my  box." 

"Of  course  not,"  echoed  Laura. 

"  Mine's  here,  all  right,"  said  Bettie,  who 


Unpleasant  Laura  145 

-°— ~ —  I 

had  been  struggling  with  her  box,  which 
opened  hard.  "  Are  you  sure  you  left  them 
in  your  Doxes  ?  " 

"  Certain  sure,"  replied  Mabel,  "  I  saw  it 
this  morning." 

"  So  did  I  see  mine,"  asserted  Marjory. 
"After  I'd  shown  it  to  Aunty  Jane 
I  brought  it  back  to  put  in  my  treasure- 
box." 

"  Laura,"  asked  Jean,  "  was  Marjory's 
handkerchief  in  her  box  when  you  looked 
in  it  this  morning  ?  I  heard  the  cover  make 
that  funny  little  clicking  noise  that  it  always 
makes  and  just  a  minute  after  you  came  out 
of  her  room." 

"I  —  I  don't  know,"  stammered  Laura. 
"  I  didn't  see  it  —  I  never  touched  her  old 
box.  If  you  say  I  did,  I'll  go  right  home 
and  tell  my  mother  you  called  me  a  thief. 
I'm  going  now,  anyway." 

The  girls  were  in  the  dining-room  just 
outside  of  the  back  bedroom  door.  As 
Laura  was  brushing  past  Jean,  the  opening 


146  Dandelion  Cottage 

of  the  new  girFs  blouse  caught  in  such  a 
fashion  on  the  corner  of  the  sideboard  that 
the  garment,  which  fastened  in  front,  came 
unbuttoned  from  top  to  bottom.  From  its 
bulging  front,  dropped  Bettie's  bead  chain, 
various  articles  of  doll's  clothing,  and  the 
two  missing  handkerchiefs. 

"They're  mine,"  cried  Laura,  making  a 
dive  for  the  things. 

"  They're  not  any  such  thing,"  cried  in- 
dignant Jean.  "  I  made  that  doll's  dress 
myself  and  I  know  the  lace  on  those  hand- 
kerchiefs." 

"  They're  my  mother's,"  protested  Laura. 

I  took  'em  out  of  her  drawer." 

"They're  not,"  contradicted  Mabel,  pry- 
ing Laura's  fingers  apart  and  forcing  her  to 
drop  one  of  the  crumpled  handkerchiefs. 
"Look  at  that  monogram — *M  B'  for 
Mabel  Bennett." 

"  It's  no  such  thing,"  lied  Laura,  stoutly. 
"It  stands  for  Bertha  Milligan  and  that's 
my  mother's  name." 


Unpleasant  Laura  147 

"  Give  me  that  other  handkerchief  this 
instant,"  demanded  Jean,  giving  Laura  a 
slight  shake.  "If  you  don't,  we'll  take  it 
away  from  you." 

"  Take  the  old  rag,"  said  Laura.  "  My 
mother  gives  away  better  handkerchiefs 
than  these  to  beggars.  I  just  took  'em  any- 
way to  scare  Vargery  Male  and  Babel  Men- 
nett,  the  silly  babies." 

After  this  enlightening  experience,  the 
girls  never  for  a  moment  left  their  unwel- 
come visitor  alone  in  any  of  the  rooms  of 
Dandelion  Cottage.  They  stood  her  for 
almost  a  week  longer,  principally  because 
there  seemed  to  be  no  way  of  getting  rid  of 
her.  Mabel,  indeed,  had  several  lively 
quarrels  with  her  during  that  time,  because 
quick-tempered  Mabel,  always  strictly  truth- 
ful herself,  could  not  tolerate  deceit  in  any- 
one else,  and  she  had,  of  course,  lost  all 
faith  in  Laura. 

The  end  came  suddenly  one  Friday  after- 
noon.    Miss  Blossom  had  sent  to  the  girls, 


148  Dandelion  Cottage 

by  mail,  a  photograph  of  her  own  charming 
self,  and  nothing  that  the  cottage  contained 
was  more  precious.  After  one  of  the  usual 
tiffs  with  Mabel,  high-handed  Laura  spite- 
fully scratched  a  disfiguring  moustache  right 
across  the  beautiful  face,  ruining  the  price- 
less treasure  beyond  repair. 

Even  Laura  looked  slightly  dismayed  at 
the  result  of  her  spiteful  work.  The  others 
for  a  moment  were  too  horror-stricken  for 
words.  Then  Mabel,  with  blazing  eyes, 
sprang  to  her  feet  and  flung  the  cottage  door 
wide  open. 

"  You  go  home,  Laura  Milllgan,"  she 
cried.  "  Don't  you  ever  dare  to  come  inside 
this  house  again." 

"Yes,  go,"  cried  mild  Bettie,  for  once 
thoroughly  roused.  "  WeVe  tried  to  be 
nice  to  you  and  there  hasn't  been  a  single 
day  that  you  haven't  been  rude  and  horrid. 
Go  home  this  minute.  We're  done  with 
you." 

"  I  won't  go  until  I'm  good  and  ready," 


Unpleasant  Laura  149 

retorted  Laura,  tearing  the  disfigured  photo- 
graph in  two  and  scornfully  tossing  the 
pieces  into  a  corner.  "  Such  a  fuss  about 
a  skinny  old  maid's  picture." 

"  You  shan't  stay  one  instant  longer," 
cried  indignant  Jean,  stepping  determinedly 
behind  Laura,  placing  her  hands  on  the 
girl's  shoulders  and  making  a  sudden 
run  for  the  door.  "  There !  You're  out 
Don't  you  ever  attempt  to  come  in  again." 

Bettie,  grasping  the  situation,  and  the  Mil- 
ligan  baby  at  the  same  time,  promptly  set 
the  boy  outside.  She  had  handled  him  with 
the  utmost  gentleness,  but  he  always  roared 
if  anyone  touched  him,  and  he  1  oared  now. 

"  Yah !  "  yelled  Laura,  "  I'll  tell  my  moth- 
er you  pinched  him  —  slapped  him,  too." 

"  Sapped  him,  too,"  wailed  the  baby. 

"  Well,"  said  Jean,  turning  the  key  in  the 
lock,  "we'll  have  to  keep  the  door  locked 
after  this.  Mercy!  I  never  behaved  so 
dreadfully  to  anybody  before  and  I  hope 
I'll  never  have  to  again*" 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Hn  Bmbatrassfng  Dlaltor 

PREVIOUSLY  to  the  time  of  the  un^ 
pleasantness  with  Laura,  the  girls 
had  unlocked  the  cottage  in  the  morning  and 
had  left  it  unlocked  until  they  were  ready 
to  go  home  at  night,  for  the  girls  spent  all 
their  waking  hours  at  Dandelion  Cottage. 
Bettie,  indeed,  had  the  care  of  the  youngest 
two  Tucker  babies,  but  they  were  good  little 
creatures  and  when  the  girls  played  with 
their  dolls  they  were  glad  to  include  the  two 
placid  babies,  just  as  if  they,  too,  were  dolls. 
The  littlest  baby,  in  particular,  made  a  re- 
markably comfortable  plaything,  for  it  was 
all  one  to  him  whether  he  slept  in  Jean's 
biggest  doirs  cradle,  or  in  the  middle  of  the 
dining-room  table,  as  long  as  he  was  per- 
mitted to  sleep  sixteen  hours  out  of  the 
twenty-four.     When  he  wasn't  asleep,  he 

ISO 


An  Embarrassing  Visitor      151 

sucked  his  thumb  contentedly,  crowed  hap 
pily  on  one  of  the  cottage  beds,  or  rolled 
cheerfully  about  on  the  cottage  floor.  The 
older  baby,  too,  obligingly  stayed  wherever 
the  girls  happened  to  put  him.  After  this 
experience  with  the  Tucker  infants,  the  Mil- 
ligan  baby  had  proved  a  great  disappoint- 
ment to  the  girls  for  they  had  hoped  to  use 
him,  too,  as  an  animated  doll,  but  he  had 
refused  steadfastly  to  make  friends  even 
with  Bettie,  whose  way  with  babies  was 
something  beautiful  to  see. 

The  girls  were  all  required  to  do  their 
own  mending  but  they  found  it  no  hardship 
to  do  their  darning  on  their  own  doorstep 
on  sunny  days,  or  around  the  dining-room 
table  if  the  north  wind  happened  to  be  blow- 
ing, for  they  always  had  so  many  interesting 
things  to  talk  about. 

During  the  daytime,  the  cottage  was 
never  left  entirely  alone.  It  was  occupied 
even  at  meal-times  because  the  four  families 
dined  and  supped  at  different  hours;  for  in- 


152  Dandelion  Cottage 

stance,  Marjory's  Aunty  Jane  always  liked 
her  tea  at  half  past  five,  but  Jean's  people 
did  not  dine  until  seven.  Owing  to  the  im- 
possibility of  capturing  all  the  boys  at  one 
time,  supper  at  the  Tucker  house  was  a 
movable  feast,  so  Bettie  usually  ate  when- 
ever she  found  it  most  convenient.  As  for 
Mabel,  it  is  doubtful  if  she  knew  the  exact 
hours  for  meals  at  the  Bennett  house  be- 
cause she  was  invariably  late.  After  the 
handkerchief  episode,  the  girls  planned  that 
one  or  another  of  them  should  always  be 
in  the  cottage  from  the  time  that  it  was 
opened  in  the  morning  until  it  was  again 
locked  for  the  night.  The  morning  after 
the  later  quarrel,  however,  the  girls  met  by 
previous  arrangement  on  Mabel's  doorstep, 
went  in  a  body  to  the  cottage  and,  after  they 
were  all  inside  carefully  locked  the  door. 

"  We'll  be  on  the  safe  side,  anyway,"  said 
Jean,  "but  I  shouldn't  think  that  Laura 
would  ever  want  to  come  near  the  place 
again." 


An  Embarrassing  Visitor      153 

"  Oh,  she'll  come  fast  enough/'  said  Ma- 
bel. "She's  cheeky  enough  for  anything. 
Do  you  'spose  she  told  her  mother  about  it? 
She  said  she  was  going  to." 

"  Pshaw !  "  said  Marjory,  "  she  was  al- 
ways threatening  to  tell  her  mother  but 
nothing  ever  came  of  it.  If  she'd  told  her 
mother  half  the  things  she  said  she  was 
going  to,  she  wouldn't  have  had  time  to  eat 
or  sleep." 

It  was  hopeless,  the  girls  had  decided,  to 
attempt  to  mend  the  ruined  photograph,  so, 
at  Bettie's  suggestion,  they  had  sorrowfully 
cut  it  into  four  pieces  of  equal  size,  which 
they  divided  between  them.  They  had  just 
laid  the  precious  fragments  tenderly  away 
in  their  treasure  boxes  when  the  doorbell 
rang  with  such  a  loud,  prolonged,  jangling 
peal  that  everybody  jumped. 

"  Laura ! "  exclaimed  the  four  girls. 

"  No,"  said  Jean,  cautiously  drawing 
back  the  curtain  of  the  front  window  and 
peeping  out.     "  It's  Mrs.  Milligan ! " 


154         Dandelion  Cottage 

"Goodness!"  whispered  Marjory, 
^there's  no  knowing  what  Laura  told  her 
—  she  never  did  tell  anything  straight" 

"Lefs  keep  still,"  said  Mabel.  "Per- 
haps she'll  think  there's  nobody  home." 

"No  hope  of  that,"  said  Jean.  "She 
saw  us  come  in.  But,  pshaw!  she  can't 
hurt  us  anyway." 

"  No,"  said  Marjory.  "  What's  the  use 
of  being  afraid  —  we  didn't  do  anything  to 
be  ashamed  of.  Aunty  Jane  says  we  should 
have  turned  Laura  out  the  day  she  took  the 
handkerchiefs." 

"  I'm  not  exactly  afraid,"  said  Bettie, 
*'  but  I  don't  like  Mrs.  Milligan  —  still,  we'll 
have  to  let  her  in,  I  suppose." 

A  second  vigorous  peal  at  the  bell  warned 
them  that  their  visitor  was  getting  impa- 
tient. 

"  You're  the  biggest  and  the  most  digni- 
fied," said  Marjory,  giving  Jean  a  shove. 
"  You  go." 

"Don't  ask  her  in  if  you  can  help  it,** 


An  Embarrassing  Visitor      155 

warned  Bettie,  in  a  pleading  whisper. 
"  The  doorbell  sounds  as  if  she  doesn't  like 
us  very  well/' 

But  the  visitor  did  not  wait  to  be  asked 
to  come  in.  The  moment  Jean  turned  the 
key  the  door  was  flung  open  and  Mrs.  Milli- 
gan  brushed  past  the  astonished  quartette 
and  sailed  into  the  parlour,  where  she  seated 
herself  bolt  upright  on  the  cosey  corner. 

"  I'd  like  to  know,"  demanded  Mrs.  Mil- 
ligan,  in  a  hard,  cold  tone  that  fell  unpleas- 
antly on  the  cottagers'  ears,  "  if  you  con- 
sider it  ladylike  for  four  great  overgrown 
girls  to  pitch  into  one  poor  innocent  little 
child  and  a  helpless  baby?  Your  conduct 
yesterday,  was  simply  outrageous.  You 
might  have  injured  those  children  for  life 
or  even  broken  the  baby's  back." 

"  Broken  the  baby's  back !  "  gasped  Bet- 
tie,  in  honest  amazement.  "  Why,  I  simply 
lifted  him  with  my  two  hands  and  set  him 
just  outside  the  door  —  I  never  was  rough 
with  any  baby  in  all  my  life." 


156         Dandelion  Cottage 

**  I  happen  to  know,  on  excellent  author- 
ity," said  Mrs.  Milligan,  "  thai  you  slapped 
both  of  those  helpless  children  and  threw 
^liem  down  the  front  steps.  Laura  was  so 
excited  about  it  that  she  couldn't  sleep  and 
the  poor  baby  cried  half  the  night  —  we  fear 
that  he's  injured  internally." 

"  Nobody  here  injured  him/'  said  Mabel. 
"  He  always  cries  all  the  time,  anyhow." 

"  We  did  put  them  out  and  for  a  very 
good  reason,"  said  Jean,  speaking  as  re- 
spectfully as  she  could,  "but  we  certainly 
didn't  hurt  either  of  them.  I'm  sorry  if  the 
baby  isn't  well,  but  I  know  it  isn't  our 
fault." 

"  Laura  walked  down  the  steps,"  said 
Bettie,  "  and  the  baby  turned  over  and  slid 
down  on  his  stomach  the  way  he  always 
does." 

"  I  should  think  that  a  minister's  daugh- 
ter," said  Mrs,  Milligan,  with  a  withering 
glance  at  poor  shrinking  Bettie,  "would 
scorn  to  tell  such  lies.*' 


An  Embarrassing  Visitor      157 


Bettie,  who  had  never  before  been  accused 
of  untruthfulness,  looked  the  picture  of  con- 
scious guilt;  a  tide  of  crimson  flooded  her 
cheeks  and  she  fingered  the  buttons  on  her 
blouse  nervously.  She  was  too  dumb- 
founded to  speak  a  word  in  her  own  de- 
fence ;  Mabel,  however,  was  only  too  ready. 

"  Bettie  never  told  a  lie  in  her  life,"  cried 
the  indignant  little  girl.  "  It  was  your  own 
Laura  that  told  stories  if  anybody  did  — 
?ind  I  guess  somebody  did,  all  right.  Laura 
never  tells  the  truth;  she  doesn't  know  how 
to." 

"  I  have  implicit  confidence  in  Laura," 
returned  Mrs.  Milligan,  frowning  at  Ma- 
bel.    "  I  believe  every  word  she  says." 

"Well,"  retorted  dauntless  Mabel, 
"that's  more  than  the  rest  of  us  do.  We 
kept  count  one  day  and  she  told  seventy-two 
fibs  that  we  know  of." 

*'  Oh  Mabel,  do  hush,"  pleaded  scandal- 
ised Bettie. 

**  Hush  nothing,"  said  Mabel,  not  to  be 


158  Dandelion  Cottage 

deterred.  "  I'm  only  telling  the  truth. 
Laura  took  our  handkerchiefs  and  then 
fibbed  about  it  and  we've  missed  a  dozen 
things  since  that  she  probably  carried  off 
and " 

"  Mabel,  Mabel !  "  warned  Jean,  pressing 
her  hand  over  Mabel's  too  reckless  lips. 
"  Don't  you  know  that  we  decided  not  to 
say  a  word  about  those  other  things  ?  They 
didn't  amount  to  anything  and  we'd  rather 
have  peace  than  to  make  a  fuss  about  them." 

"  I  can  see  very  plainly,"  said  Mrs.  Milli- 
gan,  with  cold  disapproval,  "  that  you're  not 
at  all  the  proper  sort  of  children  for  my 
little  Laura  to  play  with  —  I  forbid  you  to 
speak  to  her  again;  I  don't  care  to  have 
her  associate  with  you.  I  can  believe  all 
she  says  about  you  for  I've  never  been 
treated  so  rudely  in  my  life." 

"Apologise,  Mabel,"  whispered  Jean, 
whose  arm  was  still  about  the  younger  girl's 
neck. 

"  If  I  was  rude,"  said  candid  Mabel,  "  I 


An  Embarrassing  Visitor      159 

beg  your  pardon.  I  didn't  mean  to  be  im- 
polite, but  every  word  I  said  about  Laura 
was  true," 

"I  shall  not  accept  your  apology,"  said 
Mrs.  Milligan,  rising  to  depart,  "  until 
you've  sent  a  written  apology  to  Laura  and 
have  retracted  everything  you've  said  about 
her,  besides." 

"  It'll  never  be  accepted  then,"  said  quick- 
tempered Mabel,  "  for  we  haven't  done  any- 
thing to  apologise  for." 

"  No,  Mrs.  Milligan,"  said  Jean,  in  her 
even,  pleasant  voice,  "  no  apology  to  Laura 
can  ever  come  from  us.  We  stood  her  just 
as  long  as  we  could  and  then  we  turned  her 
out  just  as  kindly  as  anyone  could  have  done 
it.  I  told  mother  all  about  it  last  night  and 
she  agreed  that  there  wasn't  anything  else 
we  could  have  done." 

"  So  did  mamma,"  said  Bettie. 

"  So  did  Aunty  Jane." 

"  Well,"  said  Mrs.  Milligan,  pausing  on 
the  porch,  "  I'd  thank  you  young  gossips  to 


i6o  Dandelion  Cottage 

keep  your  tongues  and  your  hands  off  my 
children  in  the  future." 

Jean  closed  the  door  and  the  four  girls 
looked  at  one  another  in  silence.  None  of 
their  own  relatives  was  at  all  like  Mrs.  Mil- 
ligan  and  they  didn't  know  just  what  to 
make  of  their  unpleasant  experience.  At 
last,  Marjory  gave  a  long  sigh. 

"  Well,"  said  she,  "  I  came  awfully  near 
telling  her  when  she  forbade  our  playing 
with  Laura  that  my  Aunty  Jane  has  forbid- 
den me  to  even  speak  to  her  poor  abused 
Laura." 

"As  for  me,"  said  Mabel,  with  lofty 
scorn,  "  I  don't  need  to  be  forbidden." 

"  Come  girls,"  said  Jean,  "  I'm  sorry  it 
had  to  happen,  but  I'm  glad  the  matter's 
ended.  Let's  not  talk  about  it  any  more. 
Let's  have  one  of  our  own  good  old  happy 
days  like  we  had  before  Laura  came." 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  we'll  do,"  said  Bettie, 
*"  we'll  each  write  out  a  bill  of  fare  for  Mr. 
Black's  dinner  party,   and  we'll  see  how 


An  Embarrassing  Visitor     i6i 

many  different  things  we  can  think  of.  In 
that  way,  we'll  be  sure  not  to  forget  any- 
thing." 

"But  the  Milllgans/'  breathed  Marjory, 
promptly  seeing  through  Bettie's  tactful 
scheme. 


CHAPTER  Xy 

fSsotc  ^Trouble  'CSlitb  X^auni 

THE  Milligan  matter,  however,  was  not 
by  any  means  ended.  It  was  true 
that  the  girls  paid  no  further  attention  to 
Laura  but  this  did  not  deter  that  rather  vin- 
dictive small  person  from  annoying  the  little 
cottagers  in  every  way  that  she  possibly 
could,  although  she  was  afraid  to  work 
openly. 

As  Laura  knew,  the  girls  took  great  pride 
in  their  little  garden.  Bettie's  good-na- 
tured big  brother  Rob  had  offered  to  take 
care  of  their  tiny  lawn  and  he  kept  it  smooth 
and  even.  The  round  pansy  bed  daily 
yielded  handfuls  of  great  purple,  white  or 
golden  blossoms;  the  thrifty  nasturtiums 
were  beginning  to  bloom  with  creditable 

freedom,  and  many  of  the  different,  prettily 
162 


More  Trouble  With  Laura     163 

foliaged  little  plants  in  the  long  bed  near 
the  Milligan's  fence  were  opening  their  first 
curious,  many-coloured  flowers. 

Some  of  the  vegetables  were  positively 
getting  radishes  and  carrots  on  their  roots, 
as  Bettie  put  it.  The  pride  of  the  vegetable 
garden,  however,  was  a  huge,  rampant  vine 
that  threatened  to  take  possession  of  the 
entire  yard.  There  was  just  the  one  plant, 
no  one  knew  where  the  seed  came  from  or 
how  it  managed  to  get  itself  planted,  but 
there  it  was,  close  beside  the  back  fence. 
For  want  of  a  better  name,  the  girls  called 
it  "  The  Accident,"  and  they  expected  won- 
derful things  from  it  when  the  great  yellow 
trumpet-shaped  flowers  should  give  place  to 
fruit,  although  they  didn't  know  in  the  least 
what  kind  of  a  crop  to  look  for.  But  this 
made  it  all  the  more  delightful. 

"Perhaps  it'll  be  pumpkins,"  said  Jean. 
"I  guess  rd  better  hunt  up  a  recipe  for 
pumpkin  pie,  so's  to  be  ready  when  the  time 
comes." 


164  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  Or  those  funny,  pale  yellow  squashes 
that  are  scalloped  all  around  the  edge  like  a 
dish,"  said  Marjory. 

"  Or  cucumbers,"  said  Bettie.  "  I  took 
Mrs.  Crane  a  leaf,  one  day,  and  she  said  it 
might  be  cucumbers." 

"Or  water-melons,"  said  Mabel. 
"  Um-m !  wouldn't  it  be  grand  if  it  should 
happen  to  be  water-melons." 

"  What  Fm  wondering  is,"  said  Jean,  "  if 
there's  any  danger  of  the  vine's  going 
around  the  house  and  taking  possession  of 
the  front  yard,  too.  I  can  almost  believe 
that  this  a  seedling  of  Jack's  beanstalk  ex- 
cept that  it  runs  on  the  ground  instead  of 
up." 

"If  it  tries  to  go  around  the  corner," 
laughed  Bettie,  "  we'll  train  it  up  the  back 
of  the  house.  Wouldn't  it  be  fun  to  have 
pumpkins,  or  squashes,  or  cucumbers,  of 
melons,  or  maybe  all  of  them  at  once,  grow- 
ing on  our  roof?  " 

The    day    after    Mrs.    Milligan's    visit, 


More  Trouble  With  Laura     165 

Laura,  who  was  not  invited  to  the  party, 
and  who  found  time  heavy  on  her  hands, 
watched  the  girls,  after  stopping  for  Mar- 
jory, set  out  in  their  pretty  summer  dresses 
to  spend  the  afternoon  at  their  young 
friend's  house.  Laura  gazed  after  them  en- 
viously. There  was  no  reason  why  she 
should  have  been  invited  for  she  had  never 
met  the  little  girl  that  was  giving  the  party, 
but  she  didn't  think  of  that.  Instead,  she 
foolishly  laid  the  unintentional  slight  at  the 
little  cottagers'  door. 

Mrs.  Milligan  was  sewing  on  the  door- 
step and  had  given  Laura  a  dishtowel  tc 
hem.  Saying  something  about  hunting  for 
a  thimble,  Laura  went  to  the  kitchen,  took 
the  bread-knife  from  the  table  drawer,  stole 
quietly  out  of  the  back  door,  and  slipped 
between  the  bars  of  the  back  fence.  Reach- 
ing the  splendid  vine  that  the  girls  loved  so 
dearly,  she  parted  the  huge,  rough  leaves 
until  she  found  the  spot  where  the  vine 
Started    from    the   ground.     First    looking 


1 66         Dandelion  Cottage 


about  cautiously  to  make  certain  that  no  one 
was  in  sight,  spiteful  Laura  drew  the  knife 
back  and  forth  across  the  thick  stem  until, 
with  a  sudden,  sharp  crack,  the  sturdy  vine 
parted  from  its  root. 

Two  minutes  later,  Laura,  looking  the 
picture  of  propriety,  sat  on  the  Milligan's 
doorstep  hemming  her  dishtowel. 

Of  course,  when  the  girls  made  their  next 
daily  excursion  about  their  garden  they 
were  almost  broken-hearted  at  finding  their 
beloved  vine  flat  on  the  ground,  all  with- 
ered and  dead. 

"  Oh,"  mourned  Marjory,  "  now  we'll 
never  know  what  *  The  Accident '  was  going 
to  bear,  pumpkins  or  squashes  or " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mabel,  who  was  blinking 
hard  to  keep  the  tears  back,  "that's  the 
hardest  part  of  it,  it  was  cut  off  in  its 
p-prime  —  Oh  dear,  I  guess  I'm  g-going  to 
cry." 

"  What  could  have  done  it  ?  "  asked  Bet- 
tie,  who  was  not  far  from  following  Ma- 


More  Trouble  With  Laura     167 

bel's  example.  "  Has  anyone  stepped  on 
it?" 

"  Perhaps  a  potato  bug  ate  it  off,"  sug- 
gested Jean. 

"  A  two-legged  potato  bug,  I  guess,"  said 
Marjory,  who  had  been  examining  the 
ground  carefully.  "  See,  here  are  small 
sharp  heel  prints  close  to  the  root." 

"Whose  handkerchief  is  this?"  asked 
Mabel,  picking  up  a  small  tightly  crumpled 
ball  and  unrolling  it  gingerly.  "  There's  a 
name  on  it  but  my  eyes  are  so  teary  I  can't 
make  it  out." 

"It  looks  like  Milligan,"  said  Bettie, 
turning  it  over,  "  but  we  can't  tell  how  long 
it's  been  here." 

"  Horrid  as  she  is,"  said  charitable  Jean, 
"  it  doesn't  seem  as  if  even  Laura  would  do 
such  a  mean  thing.  I  can't  believe  it  of 
her." 

"/  can,"  said  Mabel.  "If  she  liad  a 
squash  vine,  or  a  pumpkin  vine,  I'd  go 
straight  over  and  spoil  it  this  minute."' 


1 68  Dandelion   Cottage 

**  No,  no,"  said  Jean,  "  we  mustn't  be  hor 
rid  just  because  other  folks  are.     We  won't 
pay  any  attention  to  her  —  we'll  just  be  pa- 
tient." 

The  girls  found  four  small,  oval,  green 
igg-like  objects  growing  on  the  withered 
vine;  they  cut  them  off  and  these,  too,  were 
laid  tenderly  away  in  their  treasure  boxes. 

"When  we  get  old,"  said  Mabel,  tear- 
fully, "  we'll  take  'em  out  and  tell  our  grand- 
children all  about  '  The  Accident.'  " 

But  even  this  prospect  did  not  quite  con- 
sole the  girls  for  the  loss  of  their  treasure. 

For  the  next  few  days,  Laura  remained 
contented  with  doing  on  the  sly  whatever 
she  could  to  annoy  the  girls.  One  evening, 
when  the  girls  had  gone  home  for  the  night 
and  while  her  mother  was  away  from  home, 
Laura  threw  a  brick  at  one  of  the  cottage 
windows,  breaking  a  pane  of  glass.  Reach- 
ing in  through  the  hole,  she  scattered  ha'd- 
fuls  of  sand  on  the  clean  floor  that  the  girls 
had  scrubbed  that  morning.     Another  night 


More  Trouble  With  Laura      169 

she  emptied  a  basketful  of  potato  parings  on 
their  neat  front  porch  and  daubed  molasses 
on  their  doorknob,  mean  little  tricks  prompt-^ 
ed  by  a  mean  little  nature. 

It  was  very  little  fun,  however,  to  annoy 
persons  who  refused  to  show  any  sign  of 
being  annoyed,  and  Laura  presently  changed 
her  tactics.  Taking  a  large  bone  from  the 
pantry,  one  day,  when  the  girls  were  sitting 
on  their  doorstep,  she  first  showed  it  to  Tow- 
ser,  the  Milligan  dog,  and  then  threw  it 
over  the  fence  into  the  very  middle  of  the 
pansy  bed.  Of  course,  the  big  clumsy  dog 
bounded  over  the  low  fence  after  the  bone, 
crushing  many  of  the  delicate  pansy  plants. 
After  that  at  regular  intervals,  Laura  threw 
sticks  and  other  bones  into  the  other  beds 
with  very  much  the  same  result. 

The  next  time  Rob  cut  the  grass  he  no- 
ticed the  untidy  appearance  of  the  beds  and 
asked  the  reason.     The  girls  explained. 

"  I'll  shoot  that  dog  if  you  say  so/' 
offered  Rob,  with  honest  indignation. 


170         Dandelion  Cottage 

"  No,  no,"  said  Bettie,  "  it  isn't  the  do^s 
fault." 

"  No,"  said  Jean,  "  we're  not  sure  that 
the  dog  isn't  the  least  objectionable  member 
of  the  Milligan  family. 

"  How  would  it  do  if  I  licked  the  boy?  " 
asked  Rob. 

"It  wouldn't  do  at  all,"  replied  Bettie. 
"  He  works  some  place  day  times  and  never 
even  looks  in  this  direction  when  he's  home. 
He's  afraid  of  girls." 

"Then  I  guess  you'll  have  to  grin  and 
bear  it,"  said  Rob,  moving  off  with  the 
lawn-mower,  *'  since  neither  of  my  remedies 
seems  to  fit  the  case." 


CHAPTER  XVI 


7i  Xivelis  Htternoon 


IT  happened  one  day  that  Mrs.  Milligan 
was  obliged  to  spend  a  long  afternoon 
at  the  dentist's,  leaving  Laura  in  charge  of 
the  house.  Unfortunately,  it  happened,  too, 
that  this  was  the  day  when  the  sewing-so- 
ciety met  and  Mrs.  Tucker  had  asked  Bettie 
to  stay  home  for  the  afternoon  because  the 
next  to  the  youngest  baby  was  ill  with  a 
croupy  cold  and  could  not  go  out  of  doors 
to  the  cottage.  Devoted  Jean  offered  to 
stay  with  her  beloved  Bettie,  who  gladly 
accepted  the  offer.  Before  going  to  Bet- 
tie's,  however,  Jean  ran  over  to  Dandelion 
Cottage  to  tell  the  other  girls  about  it. 

"  Mabel,"  asked  Jean,  a  little  doubtfully, 
"  are  you  quite  sure  you'll  be  able  to  turn  a 

deaf  ear  if  Laura  should  happen  to  bother 
171 


172  Dandelion   Cottage 

you  ?     I'm  half  afraid  to  leave  you  two  girls 
here  alone." 

"You  needn't  be,"  said  Mabel.  "I 
wouldn't  associate  with  Laura  if  I  were  paid 
for  it.     She  isn't  my  kind." 

"  No,"  said  Marjory,  "  you  needn't  wor- 
ry a  mite.  We're  going  to  sit  on  the  door- 
step and  read  a  perfectly  lovely  book  that 
Aunty  Jane  found  at  the  library  —  it's  one 
that  she  liked  when  she  was  a  little  girl. 
We're  going  to  take  turns  reading  it  aloud." 

"Well,  that  certainly  ought  to  keep  you 
out  of  mischief.  You'll  be  safe  enough  if 
you  stick  to  your  book.  If  anything  should 
happen  just  remember  that  I'm  at  Bettie's." 

"Yes,  grandma,"  said  Marjory,  with  a 
comical  grimace. 

Jean  laughed,  ran  around  the  house  and 
squeezed  through  the  hole  in  the  back  fence. 

Half  an  hour  later,  lonely  Laura,  discov- 
ering the  girls  on  their  doorstep,  amused 
herself  by  "  sicing "  the  dog  at  them. 
Towser,  however,  merely  growled  lazily  for 


Laura,  perched  high  on  the  fence-post,  began  to  sing. 

P,    173- 


A  Lively  Afternoon         173 

a  few  moments  and  then  went  to  sleep  in 
the  sunshine  —  he,  at  least,  cherished  no 
particular  grudge  against  the  girls  and  prob- 
ably by  that  time  he  recognised  them  as 
neighbours. 

Then  Laura  perched  herself  on  one  of 
the  square  posts  of  the  dividing  fence  and 
began  to  sing  in  her  high,  rasping,  exasper- 
ating voice,  a  song  that  was  almost  too  per- 
sonal to  be  pleasant.  It  had  taken  Laura 
almost  two  hours  to  compose  it,  some  days 
previously,  and  fully  another  hour  to  com- 
mit it  to  memory,  but  she  sang  it  now  in  an 
off-hand,  hap-hazard  way  that  led  the  girls 
to  suppose  that  she  was  making  it  up  as  she 
went  along.     It  ran  thus: 

**  There's  a  lanky  girl  named  Jean, 
Who's  altogether  too  lean. 

Her  mouth  is  too  big. 

And  she  wears  a  wig, 
And  her  eyes  are  bright  sea-green." 

Of  course  it  was  quite  impossible  to  read 
even  a  thrillingly  interesting  book  with  rude 


174         Dandelion  Cottage 

Laura  making  such  a  disturbance.  If  the 
girls  had  been  wise,  they  would  have  gone 
into  the  house  and  closed  the  door,  leaving 
Laura  without  an  audience;  but  they  were 
not  wise  and  they  were  curious.  They 
couldn't  help  waiting  to  hear  what  Laura 
was  going  to  sing  about  the  rest  of  them, 
and  they  did  not  need  to  wait  long;  Laura 
promptly  obliged  them  with  the  second 
verse : 

**  There's  another  named  Marjory  Vale, 
Who's  about  the  size  of  a  snail. 
Her  teeth  are  light  blue  — 
She  hasn't  but  two  — 
And  her  hair  is  much  too  pale." 

Laura  had,  in  several  instances,  sacrificed 
truth  for  the  sake  of  rhyme  but  enough  re- 
mained to  injure  the  vanity  of  the  sub- 
jects of  her  song  very  sharply.  Marjory 
breathed  quickly  for  a  moment  and  flushed 
pink  but  gave  no  audible  sign  that  she  had 
heard.  Laura,  somewhat  disappointed,  pro 
ceeded: 


A  Lively  Afternoon  175 

"  There's  a  silly  young  lass  called  Bet, 
Thinks  she's  ev'rybody's  sweet  pet. 

She  slapped  my  brother, 

Fibbed  to  my  mother  — 
I  know  what  she's  going  to  get." 

Mabel  snorted  indignantly  over  this  in- 
justice to  her  beloved  Bettie  and  started  to 
rise,  but  Marjory  promptly  seized  her  skirt 
and  dragged  her  down.  Laura,  however, 
saw  the  movement  and  was  correspondingly 
elated.     It  showed  in  her  voice: 

"  But  the  worst  of  the  lot  is  Mabel, 
She  eats  all  the  pie  she's  able. 

She's  round  as  a  ball. 

Has  no  waist  at  all, 
And  her  manners  are  bad  at  the  table." 

Marjory  giggled.  She  had  no  thought 
of  being  disloyal,  but  this  verse  was  cer- 
tainly a  close  fit. 

"You  just  let  me  go,"  muttered  Mabel, 
crimson  with  resentment,  and  struggling  to 
break  away  from  Marjory's  restraining 
hand.     "  I'll  push  her  off  that  post" 


176  Dandelion  Cottage 

"Hush!"  said  diplomatic  Marjory, 
"  perhaps  there's  more  to  the  song." 

But  there  wasn't.  Laura  began  at  the 
beginning  and  sang  all  the  verses  again,  giv- 
ing particular  emphasis  to  the  ones  concern- 
ing Mabel  and  Marjory.  This,  of  course, 
grew  decidedly  monotonous ;  the  girls  grew 
tired  of  the  constant  repetition  of  the  silly 
song  long  before  Laura  did.  There  was 
something  about  the  song,  too,  that  caught 
and  held  their  attention.  Irresistibly  at- 
tracted, held  by  an  exasperating  fascination, 
neither  girl  could  help  waiting  for  her  own 
especial  verse.  But  while  this  was  going 
on,  Mabel,  with  a  finger  in  the  ear  nearest 
Laura,  was  industriously  scribbling  some- 
thing on  a  scrap  of  paper. 

As  everybody  knows,  the  poetic  muse 
idoesn't  always  work  when  it  is  most  needed, 
and  Mabel  was  sadly  handicapped  at  that 
moment.  She  was  not  satisfied  with  her 
hasty  scrawl  but,  in  the  circumstances,  it 
was  the  best  she  could  do.     Suddenly,  be- 


A  Lively   Afternoon  177 

fore  Marjory  realised  what  was  about  to 
happen,  Mabel  was  shouting  back,  to  an 
air  quite  as  objectionable  as  the  one  Laura 
Was  singing: 

"  There's  a  very  rude  girl  named  Laura, 
Whose  ways  fill  all  with  horror. 
She's  all  the  things  she  says  we  are; 
All  know  this  to  their  sorrow." 

"  Yah !  yah !  "  retorted  quick-witted 
Laura.  "  There  isn't  a  rhyme  in  your  old 
song.  If  I  couldn't  rhyme  better'n  that  I'd 
learn  how  — -  come  over  and  I'll  teach  you." 

For  an  instant,  Mabel  looked  decidedly 
crushed  —  no  poet  likes  his  rhymes  dis- 
paraged. Laura,  noting  Mabel's  crestfallen 
attitude,  went  into  gales  of  mocking  laugh- 
ter and  when  Mabel  looked  at  Marjory  for 
sympathy  Marjory's  face  was  wreathed  in 
smiles.  It  was  too  much;  Mabel  hated  to 
be  laughed  at. 

"  I  can  rhyme,"  cried  Mabel,  springing  to 
her  feet  and  giving  vent  to  all  her  grievances 
at  once.     "My  table  manners   are  good. 


178  Dandelion  Cottage 

rm  not  fat.  I've  got  just  as  much  waist  as 
you  have." 

"You've  got  more,"  shrieked  delighted 
Laura. 

Faithless  Marjory,  struck  by  this  indubit- 
able truth,  laughed  outright. 

"You  —  you  can't  make  Indian-bead 
chains,"  sputtered  Mabel,  trying  hard  to  find 
something  crushing  to  say.  "You  can't 
make  pan-cakes.     You  can't  drive  nails." 

"  Yah,"  retorted  Laura,  vi^ho  was  right  in 
her  element,  "you  can't  throw  straight." 

"  Neither  can  you." 

"I  can  —  if  I  could  find  anything  to 
throw  I'd  prove  it." 

Just  at  this  unfortunate  moment,  a  gro 
ceryman  arrived  at  the  Milligan  house  with 
a  basketful  of  beautiful  scarlet  tomatoes. 
In  another  second,  Laura,  anxious  to  prove 
her  ability,  had  jumped  from  the  fence, 
seized  the  basket  and,  with  unerring  aim, 
was  delightedly  pelting  her  astonished  ene- 
my with  the  gorgeous  fruit     Mabel  caught 


A  Lively  Afternoon  179 

one  full  in  the  chest,  and  as  she  turned  to 
flee,  another  landed  square  in  the  middle  of 
her  light  blue  gingham  back;  Marjory's 
shoulder  stopped  a  third  before  the  girls  re- 
treated to  the  house,  leaving  Laura,  a  pic- 
turesque figure  on  the  high  post,  shouting 
derisively : 

"  Proved  it,  didn't  I  —  Ki !  I  proved  it." 
Marjory,  pleading  that  discretion  was  the 
better  part  of  valour,  begged  Mabel  to  stay 
indoors;  but  Mabel,  who  had  received,  and 
undoubtedly  deserved,  the  worst  of  the  en- 
counter, was  for  instant  revenge.  Rushing 
to  the  kitchen  she  seized  the  pan  of  hard 
little  green  apples  that  Grandma  Pike  had 
bequeathed  the  girls  and  flew  with  them  to 
the  porch. 

Mabel's  first  shot  took  Laura  by  surprise 
and  landed  squarely  between  her  shoulders. 
Mabel  was  surprised,  too,  because  throwing 
straight  was  not  one  of  her  accomplish- 
ments. She  hadn't  hoped  to  do  more  than 
frighten  her  exasperating  little  neighbour. 


i8o  Dandelion  Cottage 

Elated  by  this  success,  Mabel  threw  her 
second  apple,  which,  alas,  flew  wide  of  its 
mark  and  caught  poor  unprepared  Mr.  Mil- 
ligan,  who  was  coming  in  at  his  own  gate, 
just  under  the  jaw,  striking  in  such  a  fash- 
ion that  it  forced  the  astonished  man  to 
suddenly  bite  his  tongue. 

Nobody  likes  to  bite  his  tongue.  Nat- 
urally Mr.  Milligan  was  indignant;  indeed, 
he  had  every  reason  to  be,  for  Mabel's  con- 
duct was  disgraceful  and  the  little  apple  was 
very  hard.  Entirely  overlooking  the  fact 
that  Laura,  who  had  failed  to  notice  her 
father's  untimely  arrival,  was  still  vigorous- 
ly pelting  Mabel,  who  stood  as  if  petrified 
on  the  cottage  steps  and  was  making  no 
effort  to  dodge  the  flying  scarlet  fruit,  Mr. 
Milligan  shouted: 

"  See  here,  you  young  imps,  I'll  see  that 
you're  turned  out  of  that  cottage  for  this 
outrage.  We've  stood  just  about  enough 
abuse  from  you.  I  don't  intend  to  put  u^ 
with  any  more  of  it." 


A  Lively  Afternoon  i8i 

Then,  suddenly  discovering  what  Laura, 
who  had  turned  around  in  dismay  at  sound 
of  her  father's  voice,  was  doing,  angry  Mr. 
Milligan  dragged  his  suddenly  crestfallen 
daughter  from  the  fence,  boxed  her  ears 
soundly,  and  carried  what  was  left  of  the  to- 
matoes into  the  house;  for  that  particular 
basket  of  fruit  had  been  sent  from  very  far 
South  and  express  charges  had  swelled  the 
price  of  the  unseasonable  dainty  to  a  very 
considerable  sum. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

3taura'0  Veteion  ®f  ^be  Stors 

MARJORY,  in  the  cottage  kitchen, was 
alternately  scolding  and  laughing 
at  wo-begone  Mabel  when  Jean  and  Bettie, 
released  from  their  charge,  ran  back  to  Dan- 
delion Cottage.  Mabel,  crying  with  indig- 
nation, sat  on  the  kitchen  stove  rubbing  her 
eyes  with  a  pair  of  grimy  fists  —  Mabers 
hands  always  gathered  dust. 

"  Oh  Mabel !  how  could  you ! "  groanecV 
Jean,  when  Marjory  had  told  the  afternoon's 
story.  "I'll  never  dare  to  leave  you  here 
again  without  some  sensible  person  to  look 
after  you.  Don't  you  see  you've  been  al- 
most—  yes,  quite  —  as  bad  as  Laura?" 

"  I  don't  care,"  sobbed  unrepentant  Ma- 
bel. "If  you'd  heard  those  verses  —  and 
—  and  Marjory  laughed  at  me." 

"  Couldn't  help  it,"  giggled  Marjory,  who 
182 


Laura's  Version  183 

was  perched  on  the  corner  of  the  kitchen 
table. 

**  But  surely/'  reproached  gentle-man- 
nered Jean,  "  it  wasn't  necessary  to  throw 
things." 

"  I  guess,"  said  Mabel,  suddenly  sitting 
up  very  straight  and  disclosing  a  puffy, 
tear-stained  countenance  that  moved  Mar- 
jory to  fresh  giggles,  "if  you'd  felt  those 
icy  cold  tomatoes  go  plump  in  your  eye 
and  every  place  on  your  very  newest  dress 
you'd  have  been  pretty  mad,  too.  Look  at 
me !  I  was  too  surprised  to  move  after  I'd 
hit  Mr.  Milligan  —  I  never  saw  him  coming 
at  all  —  and  I  guess  every  tomato  Laura 
threw  hit  me  some  place." 

"  Yes,"  confirmed  Marjory,  "  I'll  say  that 
much  for  Laura.  She  can  certainly  throw 
straighter  than  any  girl  I  ever  knew  —  she 
throws  just  like  a  boy." 

Jean,  still  worried  and  disapproving, 
could  not  help  laughing,  for  Laura's  plump 
target  showed  only  too  good  evidence  of 


184  Dandelion  Cottage 

Laura's  skill.  MabeFs  new,  light  bfue  ging- 
ham showed  a  round  scarlet  spot  where 
each  juicy  missile  had  landed;  and  besides 
this,  there  were  wide  muddy  circles  where 
her  tears  had  left  high-water  marks  about 
each  eye. 

"  But,  dear  me,"  said  Jean,  growing  sober 
again,  "  think  how  low  down  and  horrid  it 
will  sound  when  we  tell  about  it  at  home. 
Suppose  it  should  get  into  the  papers !  Ap- 
ples and  tomatoes !  If  boys  had  done  it  it 
would  have  sounded  bad  enough,  but  for 
girls  to  do  such  a  thing!  Oh  dear,  I  do 
wish  I'd  been  here  to  stop  it !  " 

"  To  stop  the  tomatoes,  you  mean,"  said 
Mabel.  "  You  couldn't  have  stopped  any- 
thing else,  for  I  just  had  to  do  something 
or  burst.  I've  felt  all  the  week  just  like 
something  sizzling  in  a  bottle  and  waiting 
to  have  the  cork  pulled !  I'll  never  be  able 
to  do  my  suffering  in  silence  the  way  you 
and  Bettie  do.  Oh  girls,  I  feel  just  loads 
Setter." 


Laura's  Version  185 

"Well,  you  may  feel  better,"  said  irre- 
pressible Marjory,  "  but  you  certainly  look 
a  lot  worse.  With  those  muddy  rings  on 
your  face  you  look  just  like  a  little  owl  that 
isn't  very  wise." 

"  Oh  dear,"  mourned  Bettie,  "  if  Miss 
Blossom  had  only  stayed  we  wouldn't  have 
had  all  this  trouble  with  those  people." 

"  No,"  said  Marjory,  shrewdly,  "  Miss 
Blossom  would  probably  have  made  Laura 
over  into  a  very  good  imitation  of  an  honest 
citizen.  I  don't  think,  though,  that  even 
Miss  Blossom  could  make  Laura  anything 
more  than  an  imitation,  because  —  well,  be- 
cause she's  Laura.  It's  different  with  Ma- 
bel  '' 

Mabel  looked  up  expectantly,  and  Mar- 
jory, who  was  in  a  teasing  mood,  con- 
tinued. 

"Yes,"  said  she,  encouragingly,  "Miss 
Blossom  might  have  succeeded  in  making  a 
nice,  polite  girl  out  of  Mabel  if  she'd  only 
had  time ■" 


1 86  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  How  much  time  ?  "  demanded  Mabel, 
with  sudden  suspicion. 

"  Oh,  about  a  thousand  years,"  replied 
Marjory,  skipping  prudently  behind  tall 
Jean. 

"Never  mind,  Mabel,"  said  Bettie,  who 
always  sided  with  the  oppressed,  slipping  a 
thin  arm  about  Mabel's  plump  shoulders. 
**We  like  you  pretty  well,  anyway,  and 
you've  certainly  had  an  awful  time." 

"  Do  you  think,"  asked  Mabel,  with  sud- 
den concern,  "that  Mr.  Milligan  could  get 
us  turned  out  of  the  cottage?  You  know 
he  threatened  to." 

"  No,"  said  Bettie,  "  the  cottage  is  church 
property  and  no  one  could  do  anything 
about  it  with  Mr.  Black  away  because  he's 
the  senior  warden.  Father  said  only  this 
morning  that  there  was  all  sorts  of  church 
business  waiting  for  him." 

"  Well,"  said  Mabel,  with  a  sigh  of  re- 
lief, "  Mr.  Black  wouldn't  turn  us  out,  so 
we're  perfectly  safe  —  guess  I'll  go  out  on 


Laura's  Version  187 

the  porch  and  sing  my  Milligan  song  again." 
**  I  guess  you  won't,"  said  Jean. 
"There's  a  very  good  tub  in  the  Bennett 
house  and  I'd  advise  you  to  go  home  and 
take  a  bath  in  it  —  you  look  as  if  you  ne^de^ 
two  baths  and  a  shampoo.  Besides,  it's  al- 
most supper  time." 

Laura's  version  of  the  story,  unfortunate- 
ly, differed  materially  from  the  truth. 
There  was  no  gainsaying  the  tomatoes,  Mr. 
Milligan  had  seen  those  with  his  own  eyes, 
but  Laura  claimed  that  she  had  been  com- 
pelled to  use  those  expensive  vegetables  as 
a  means  of  self  defence.  According  to 
Laura,  whose  imagination  was  as  well 
trained  as  her  arm,  she  had  been  the  inno- 
cent victim  of  all  sorts  of  persecution  at  the 
hands  of  the  four  girls.  They  had  called 
her  a  thief  and  had  insulted  not  only  her  but 
all  the  Milligans.  Mabel,  she  declared,  had 
opened  hostilities  that  afternoon  by  throw- 
ing stones,  and  poor,  abused  Laura  had  only 
used  the  tomatoes  as  a  last  resort.     The 


1 88         Dandelion  Cottage 

apple  that  struck  Mr.  Milligan  was,  she 
maintained,  the  very  last  of  about  four 
dozen. 

Had  the  Milligans  not  Been  prejudiced, 
they  might  easily  have  learned  how  far  from 
the  truth  this  assertion  was,  for  the  porch 
of  Dandelion  Cottage  was  still  bespattered 
with  tomatoes  but,  in  the  Milligan  yard, 
there  were  no  traces  of  the  recent  encounter. 
This,  to  be  sure,  was  no  particular  credit  to 
Mabel  for  there  might  have  been  had  Mr. 
Milligan  delayed  his  coming  by  a  very  few 
minutes,  for  Mabel's  pan  still  contained 
seven  hard  little  apples  and  Mabel  still 
longed  to  use  them. 

The  Milligans,  however,  were  prejudiced. 
Although  Laura  was  often  rude  and  dis- 
agreeable at  home,  she  was  the  only  little 
girl  the  Milligans  had;  in  any  quarrel  with 
outsiders  they  naturally  sided  with  their 
own  flesh  and  blood,  and,  in  spite  of  the 
tomatoes,  they  did  so  now.  In  her  mother 
Laura  found  a  staunch  champion. 


Laura's  Version  189 

"  I  won't  have  those  stuck-up  little  imps 
there  another  week,"  said  Mrs.  Milligan. 
"If  you  don't  see  that  they're  turned  out, 
James,  I  will." 

"  They  stick  out  their  tongues  at  me  every 
time  they  see  me,"  fibbed  Laura,  whose  own 
tongue  was  the  only  one  that  had  been  used 
for  sticking-out  purposes.  "  They  said  ma 
was  no  lady  and " 

"  I'm  going  to  complain  of  them  this  very 
night,"  said  Mrs.  Milligan,  with  quick  re- 
sentment. "  I'll  show  'em  whether  I'm  a 
lady  or  not." 

"  Who'll  you  complain  to  ?  "  asked  Laura, 
hopefully. 

*  The  church  warden,  of  course.  These 
cottages  both  belong  to  the  church." 

"Mr.  Black  is  the  girls'  best  friend," 
said  Laura.  "  He  wouldn't  believe  any- 
thing against  them  —  besides  he's  away." 

"  Mr.  Downing  isn't,"  said  Mr.  Milligan. 
"I  paid  him  the  rent  last  week.  We'll 
threaten  to  leave  if  he  doesn't  turn  them  out 


190  Dandelion  Cottage 

He's  a  sharp  business  man  and  he  wouldn't 
lose  the  rent  of  this  house  for  the  sake  of 
letting  a  lot  of  children  use  that  cottage. 
I'll  see  him  to-morrow." 

"No,"  said  Mrs.  Milligan,  "just  leave 
the  matter  to  me.  I'll  talk  to  Mr.  Down- 
mg. 

"  Suit  yourself,"  said  Mr.  Milligan,  glad 
perhaps  to  shirk  a  disagreeable  task. 

After  supper  that  evening,  Mrs.  Milligan 
put  on  her  best  bonnet  and  went  to  Mr. 
Downing's  house,  which  was  only  about 
three  blocks  from  her  own.  The  evening 
was  warm  and  she  found  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Downing  seated  on  their  front  porch.  Mrs. 
Milligan  accepted  their  invitation  to  take 
a  chair  and  began  at  once  to  explain  the 
reason  for  her  visit. 

The  angry  woman's  tale  lost  nothing  in 
the  telling,  indeed,  it  was  not  hard  to  dis- 
cover how  Laura  came  by  her  habit  of  ex- 
aggerating. When  Mrs.  Milligan  went 
home  half  an  hour  later,  Mr.  Downing  was 


Laura's  Version  191 

convinced  that  the  church  property  was  in 
dangerous  hands.  He  couldn't  see  what 
Mr.  Black  had  been  thinking  of  to  allow 
careless,  impudent  children  that  played  with 
matches,  drove  nails  in  the  cottage  plaster 
and  insulted  innocent  neighbours,  to  occupy 
Dandelion  Cottage. 

"  Some  way,"  said  Mrs.  Downing,  when 
the  visitor  had  departed,  "  I  don't  like  that 
woman.     She  isn't  quite  a  lady.'* 

"  Nonsense,  my  dear,"  said  Mr.  Down- 
ing, "if  only  half  the  things  she  hints  at 
are  true,  there  would  be  reason  enough  for 
closing  the  cottage.  The  place  itself  doesn't 
amount  to  much,  I've  been  told,  but  a  fire 
started  there  would  damage  thousands  of 
dollars'  worth  of  property  —  besides,  there's 
the  rent  from  the  house  those  people  are 
in,  we  don't  want  to  lose  that  you  know." 

"  Still,  there  are  always  tenants " 

"  Not  at  this  time  of  the  year.  I'll  look 
into  the  matter  as  soon  as  I  can  find  time." 

"  Remember,"  said  Mrs.  Downing,  think- 


192  Dandelion   Cottage 

ing  of  Mrs.  Milligan's  rasping  tones,  "  that 
there  are  two  sides  to  every  story." 

"  My  dear/'  said  Mr.  Downing,  compla- 
cently, "  I  shall  listen  with  the  strictest  im- 
partiality to  both  sides." 


CHAPTER  XV^l 


Cbe  Juntor  MarDcn 


BY  nine  o'clock  the  next  morning,  the 
girls  were  all  at  the  cottage  as  usual. 
Mrs.  Mapes  had  given  them  materials  for  a 
simple  cake  and  Jean  and  Bettie  were  in  the 
kitchen  making  it.  Marjory,  singing  as  she 
worked,  was  running  her  Aunty  Jane's  car- 
pet-sweeper noisily  over  the  parlor  rug, 
while  Mabel,  whistling  an  accompaniment 
to  Marjory's  song,  was  dusting  the  side- 
board; at  all  times  the  cottage  furniture 
received  so  much  unnecessary  dusting  that 
it  would  not  have  been  at  all  surprising  if 
It  had  worn  thin  in  spots. 

When  the  doorbell  rang  suddenly  and 
sharply,  Marjory's  tune  stopped  short,  high 
in  air,  and  Mabel  ran  to  the  window. 

"  It's  a  man,"  announced  Mabel. 
193 


194  Dandelion  Cottage 

"Mr  Milligan?"  asked  Marjory,  anx- 
iously. 

"  He's  moved  so  I  can't  tell." 

"  Try  the  other  window/'  urged  Marjory, 
impatiently. 

"  It  doesn't  look  like  Mr.  Milligan's  legs 
—  I  can't  see  the  rest  of  him.  They  look 
neat  and  —  and  expensive." 

"  Probably  it's  just  an  agent ;  they're  kind 
of  thick  lately.  You  go  to  the  door  and 
tell  him  we're  just  pretend  people,  while  I'm 
putting  the  sweeper  out  of  sight." 

"  Good  morning,"  said  Mr.  Downing. 
"  Are  you  — Why !  this  is  a  very  cosy  little 
place.  I  had  no  idea  that  it  was  so  com- 
fortable.    May  I  come  in  ?  " 

"Ye  —  es,"  returned  Mabel,  eyeing  him 
doubtfully,  "but  I  think  you're  probably 
making  a  mistake.  You  see,  we're  not 
really  truly  people." 

"  Indeed ! "  said  Mr.  Downing,  with  an 
amused  glance  at  plump  Mabel.  "  Is  it  pos- 
sible you're  a  ghost  ?  " 


The  Junior  Warden  195 

"  I  mean,"  explained  Mabel,  "  we're  just 
children  and  this  is  only  a  playhouse,  not 
a  real  one.  If  you  have  anything  to  sell,  or 
are  looking  for  a  boarding  place,  or  want 
to  take  our  census " 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Downing,  "  I  don't  want 
either  your  dollars  or  your  senses.  My 
name  is  Downing  and  Fm  not  selling  any- 
thing. I  called  on  business.  Who  is  the 
head  of  this  —  this  ghostly  corporation?" 

"  It  has  four,"  said  Mabel.  "  I'll  get  the 
rest." 

Bettie  and  Jean,  with  grown-up  gingham 
aprons  tied  about  their  necks  followed  Ma- 
bel to  the  parlour.  Mr.  Downing  had  seated 
himself  in  one  of  the  chairs  and  the  girls 
sat  facing  him  in  a  bright-eyed  row  on  the 
couch.  Their  countenances  were  so  eager 
and  expectant  that  Mr.  Downing  found  it 
hard  to  begin. 

"  I've  come  in,"  he  said,  "  to  talk  over 
a  little  matter  of  business  with  you.  I 
understand  that  you've  been  having  trouble 


196         Dandelion  Cottage 

with  your  neighbours  —  exchanging  com* 
pliments " 

"  No,"  said  honest  Mabel,  turning  crim- 
son, "it  was  apples  and  tomatoes.  The 
Milligans  are  the  most  troublesome  neigh- 
bours we've  ever  had." 

"  So-o  ?  '*  said  the  visitor,  raising  his  eye- 
brows in  genuine  surprise.  "Why,  I  un- 
derstood that  it  was  quite  the  other  way 
round.  I'd  like  to  hear  your  version  of  the 
difficulty." 

Jean  and  Bettie,  with  occasional  assistance 
from  Marjory  and  much  prompting  from 
Mabel,  told  him  all  about  it.  During  the 
recital  Mr.  Downing's  attention  seemed  to 
wander,  for  his  eyes  took  in  every  detail 
of  the  neat  sitting  room,  strayed  to  the  pret- 
tily papered  dining-room  and  even  rested 
lingeringly  upon  the  one  visible  comer  of 
the  dainty  blue  bedroom.  Bettie  had  neg- 
lected to  close  the  door  between  the  kitchen 
and  the  dining-room,  which  circumstance 


The  Junior  Warden  197 

proved  unfortunate,  because  the  tiny  scrap 
of  butter  that  Jean  had  left  melting  in  a 
very  small  pan  on  the  kitchen  stove,  got  too 
hot  and  with  threatening,  hissing  noises, 
began  to  give  forth  clouds  of  thick,  disagree- 
able smoke.  Jean,  the  first  of  the  girls  to 
notice  it,  flew  to  the  kitchen,  snatched  a 
lid  from  the  stove,  and,  with  a  newspaper 
for  a  holder,  swept  the  burning  butter,  pan 
and  all,  into  the  fire.  Then  the  paper  in 
Jean's  hand  caught  fire,  and  for  the  instant 
before  she  stuffed  it  into  the  stove  and 
clapped  the  lid  into  place,  fierce  red  flames 
leaped  high. 

To  the  visitor,  prepared  by  Mrs.  Milligan 
for  just  such  doings,  it  looked  for  a  moment 
as  if  all  the  rear  end  of  the  cottage  was  in 
flames ;  but  Jean  returned  to  her  place  on  the 
couch  with  an  air  of  what  looked  to  Mn 
Downing  very  much  like  almost  criminal  un- 
concern. How  was  Mr.  Downing,  who  did 
no  cooking,  to  know  that  paper  placed  on  a 


198         Dandelion  Cottage 

cake-baking  fire  always  flares  up  in  an 
alarming  fashion  without  doing  any  real 
harm?  He  didn't  know,  and  the  incident 
decided  the  matter  he  was  turning  over  in 
his  mind.  The  girls  had  found  it  a  little 
hard  to  tell  their  story,  for  it  was  plain  that 
their  visitor  was  using  his  eyes  rather  than 
his  ears ;  moreover,  they  were  not  at  all  cer- 
tain that  he  had  any  right  to  demand  the 
facts  in  the  case.  When  the  story  was  fin- 
ished, Mr.  Downing  looked  at  the  row  of 
interested  faces  and  cleared  his  throat;  but, 
for  some  reason,  the  words  he  had  meant 
to  speak  refused  to  come.  He  hadn't  sup- 
posed that  the  evicting  of  unsatisfactory  ten- 
ants would  prove  such  an  unpleasant  task. 
The  tenants,  all  at  once,  seemed  part  of  the 
house,  and  the  man  realised,  suddenly,  that 
the  losing  of  the  cottage  was  likely  to  prove 
a  severe  blow  to  the  four  little  housekeepers. 
Perhaps  it  was  disconcerting  to  see  the  ex- 
pression of  puzzled  anxiety  that  had  crept 
into  Bettie's  great  brown  eyes,  into  Jean's 


The  Junior  Warden  199 

hazel  ones,  into  Marjory's  grey,  and  Mabel's 
blue  ones ;  at  any  rate,  Mr.  Downing  decided 
to  be  well  out  of  the  way  when  the  blow 
should  fall;  he  realised  that  it  would  prove 
a  trying  ordeal  to  face  all  those  young  eyes 
filled  with  indignation  and  probably  with 
tears. 

"  Ah  hum,"  said  Mr.  Downing,  rising  to 
take  his  leave.  "  I'm  much  obliged  to  you 
young  ladies.  Hum  —  the  number  of  this 
house  is  what,  if  you  please?  " 

"  Number  224,"  said  Bettie,  whose  mind 
worked  quickly. 

"  Hum,"  said  Mr.  Downing,  writing  it  on 
the  envelope  he  had  taken  from  his  pocket, 
and  moving  rather  abruptly  toward  the  door, 
as  if  desirous  to  escape  as  speedily  as  possi- 
ble with  the  knowledge  he  had  gleaned. 
"Thank  you  very  much  —  I  bid  you  all 
good  morning." 

"  Now  what  in  the  world  did  that  man 
want  ?  "  demanded  Mabel,  before  the  front 
door  had  fairly  closed.    "  Do  you  s'pose  he's 


200         Dandelion  Cottage 

some  kind  of  a  lawyer,  or  (Mabel  turned 
pale  at  the  thought)  a  policeman  disguised 
as  a  —  a  human  being?  Do  you  suppose 
the  Milligans  are  going  to  get  us  arrested 
for  just  two  apples  —  and  —  and  a  little 
poetry?" 

"More  likely,"  suggested  Jean,  "he's  a 
burglar.  Didn't  you  notice  the  way  he 
looked  around  at  everything?  I  could  see 
that  he  sort  of  lost  interest  after  while  —  as 
Jf  he  had  concluded  that  we  hadn't  anything 
worth  stealing." 

"  Nonsense !  "  said  Bettie.  "  I  don't  know 
what  he  does  for  a  living,  but  he  can't  be 
a  burglar.  He  hasn't  lived  here  very  long, 
but  he  goes  to  our  church  and  comes  to  our 
house  sometimes  to  vestry  meetings.  Some- 
times on  warm  Sunday's  when  there's  no- 
body else  to  do  it,  he  passes  the  plate." 

"  Well,"  said  Mabel,  "  I  hope  he  isn't  a 
policeman  weekdays." 

"More  likely,"  said  Marjory,  "he  does 
reporting  for  the  papers.    The  time  Aunty 


The  Junior  Warden         201 

^■^— "™^^"^~ 

Jane  was  in  that  railroad  accident,  a  reporter 
came  to  our  house  to  interview  her,  and  he 
asked  questions  just  as  that  Mr.  Downing 
—  was  that  his  name?  —  did.  He  took  the 
number  of  the  house,  too." 

"  Oh  mercy ! "  gasped  Mabel,  turning 
suddenly  from  white  to  a  deep  crimson. 
"If  those  green  apples  get  into  the  paper 
I'll  be  too  ashamed  to  live!  Oh  girls! 
Couldn't  we  stop  him  —  couldn't  we  — 
couldn't  we  pay  him  something  not  to?" 

"  It's  probably  in  by  now,"  said  Marjory, 
teasingly.  "  They  do  it  hy  telegraph,  you 
know." 

"  He  couldn't  have  been  a  reporter,"  pro- 
tested Mabel.  "  Reporters  are  always  young 
and  very  active  so  they  can  catch  lots  of 
scoons  —  no,  scoots." 

"  Scoops,"  corrected  Jean. 

"Well,  scoops.  He  was  kind  of  slow 
and  a  little  bit  bald  headed  on  top  —  I 
noticed  it  when  he  stooped  for  his  hat.'* 

"Well,  anyway,"  comforted  Jean,  "let's 


202  Dandelion   Cottage 

not  worry  about  it.  Let's  rebuild  our  fire  — • 
of  course  it's  out  by  now  —  and  finish  our 
cake." 

In  spite  of  the  cake's  turning  out  much 
better  than  anyone  could  have  expected, 
with  so  many  agitated  cooks  taking  turns 
stirring  it,  there  was  something  wrong  with 
the  day.  The  girls  were  filled  with  uneasy 
forebodings  and  could  settle  down  to  noth- 
ing. Marjory  felt  no  desire  to  sing  and  even 
the  cake  seemed  to  have  lost  something  of 
its  flavor.  Moreover,  when  they  had  stood 
for  a  moment  on  their  doorstep  to  see  the 
new  steam  road  roller  go  puffing  by,  Laura, 
had  tossed  her  head  triumphantly,  and  had 
shouted  tauntingly :  *'''  I  know  something  / 
sha'n't  tell."  After  that,  the  girls  could  not 
help  wondering  if  Laura  really  did  know 
something  —  some  dreadful  thing  that  con- 
cerned them  vitally  and  was  liable  to  burst 
upon  them  at  any  moment. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  their 
housekeeping,  they  could  find  nothing  that 


The  Junior  Warden  203 

they  really  wanted  to  do.  During  the  after- 
noon they  had  several  little  disagreements 
with  each  other.  Mild  Jean  spoke  sharply 
to  Marjory  and  even  sweet-tempered  Bettie 
was  drawn  into  a  lively  dispute  with  Mabel. 
Moreover,  all  three  of  the  older  girls  were 
inclined  to  blame  Mabel  for  her  fracas  with 
the  Milligans;  and  the  culprit,  ashamed  one 
moment  and  defiant  the  next,  was  in  a  most 
unhappy  frame  of  mind.  Altogether,  the 
day  was  a  failure  and  the  four  friends  parted 
coldly  at  least  an  hour  before  the  usual  time, 


T 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Hn  TUncipecteD  Xetter 

HE  next  morning,  Jean,  with  three 
large  bananas  as  a  peace  offering, 
was  the  first  to  arrive  at  Dandelion  Cottage. 
Jean,  a  wise  young  person  for  her  years,  had 
decided  that  a  little  hard  work  would  clear 
the  atmosphere,  so,  finding  no  one  else  in  the 
house,  she  made  a  fire  in  the  stove,  put  on 
the  kettle,  put  up  the  leaf  of  the  kitchen  table 
and  began  to  take  all  the  dishes  from  the 
pantry  shelves.  Dishwashing  in  the  cottage 
was  always  far  more  enjoyable  than  this  de- 
spised occupation  usually  is  elsewhere, 
owing  to  the  astonishing  assortment  of 
crockery  the  girls  had  accumulated.  No 
two  of  the  dishes,  with  the  exception  of  a 
pair  of  plates  bearing  life-sized  portraits  of 
**  The  frog  that  would  a-wooing  go,  whether 

his  mother  would  let  him  or  no,"  bore  the 
204 


An  Unexpected  Letter       205 

same  pattern.  There  was  a  bewildering  di- 
versity, too,  in  the  sizes  and  shapes  of  the 
cups  and  saucers,  and  an  alarming  variety 
in  the  matter  of  colours.  But,  as  the  girls 
had  declared  gleefully  a  dozen  times  or 
more,  it  would  be  possible  to  set  the  table  for 
seven  courses  when  the  time  should  come 
for  Mr.  Black's  and  Mrs.  Crane's  dinner 
party,  because  so  many  of  the  things  almost 
matched  if  they  didn't  quite.  Jean  was 
thinking  of  this,  as  she  lifted  the  dishes  from 
the  shelf  to  the  table,  and  lovingly  arranged 
them  in  pairs,  the  pink  sugar  bowl  beside  the 
blue  cream-pitcher,  the  yellow  coffee  cup 
beside  the  dull  red  Japanese  tea  cup,  and  the 
"  Love-the-Giver "  mug,  beside  the  "  For 
my  Little  Friend  "  oat-meal  bowl.  She  had 
just  taken  down  the  big,  dusty,  cracked 
pitcher  that  matched  nothing  else,  which, 
perhaps,  was  the  reason  that  it  had  remained 
high  on  the  shelf  since  the  day  Mabel  had 
used  it  for  her  lemonade,  when  the  door  bell 
rang. 


2o6  Dandelion  Cottage 

Hastily  wiping  her  dusty  hands,  Jean  ran 
to  the  door.  No  one  was  there,  but  the 
postman  was  climbing  the  steps  of  the  next 
house,  so  Jean  slipped  her  fingers  expectant- 
ly into  the  little,  rusty  iron  letter-box.  Per- 
haps there  was  something  from  Miss  Blos- 
som, who  sometimes  showed  that  she  had 
not  forgotten  her  little  landladies. 

Sure  enough,  there  was  a  large  white  let- 
ter, not  from  Miss  Blossom  to  be  sure,  but 
from  somebody.  To  the  young  cottagers, 
letters  were  always  joyous  happenings ;  they 
had  no  debts,  consequently  they  were  unac- 
quainted with  bills.  With  this  auspicious 
beginning,  for  of  course  the  coming  of  a 
totally  unexpected  letter  was  an  auspicious 
beginning,  it  was  surely  going  to  be  a  cheer- 
ful, perhaps  even  a  delightful  day.  Jean 
hummed  happily  as  she  laid  the  unopened 
letter  on  the  dining-room  table,  for  of  course 
a  letter  somewhat  oddly  addressed  to  "  The 
Four  Young  Ladies  at  224  Fremont  Street, 
City,"  could  be  opened  only  when  all  four 


An  Unexpected  Letter       207 

were  present.  When  Marjory  and  Bettie 
came  in,  they  fell  upon  the  letter  and  ex- 
amined every  portion  of  the  envelope,  but 
neither  girl  could  imagine  who  had  sent  it. 
It  v/as  impossible  to  wait  for  Mabel,  who 
was  always  late,  so  Bettie  obligingly  ran  to 
get  her.  Even  so  there  was  still  some  con- 
siderable delay  for  Mabel  had  to  lace  her 
shoes;  but  presently  Bettie  returned,  with 
Mabel,  still  nibbling  very-much-buttered 
toast,  at  her  heels. 

"You  open  it,  Jean,"  panted  Bettie. 
**  You  can  read  writing  better  than  we  can." 

"  Hurry,"  urged  Mabel,  who  could  keep 
other  persons  waiting  much  easier  than  she 
herself  could  wait. 

"  Here's  a  fork  to  open  it  with,"  said 
Marjory ,  "  I  can't  find  the  scissors.  Hurry 
up;  maybe  it's  a  party  and  we'll  have  to 
R.  S.  V.  P.  right  away." 

"Oh  goody,  if  it  is!"  squealed  Mabel. 
**  I  can  wear  my  new  tan  Oxfords. 

"  It's     from     Yours     Respectably  —  no, 


2o8  Dandelion  Cottage 

Yours  Regretfully,  John  W.  Downing,"  an- 
nounced Jean.  "The  man  that  was  here 
yesterday,  you  know." 

"  Read  it,  read  it,"  pleaded  the  others, 
crowding  so  closely  that  Jean  had  to  elevate 
the  letter  above  their  heads  in  order  to  see 
it  at  all.  "Do  hurry  up,  we're  crazy  to 
hear  it." 

"  My  Dear  Young  Ladies :  "  read  Jean  in 
a  voice  that  started  bravely  but  grew  fainter 
with  every  line.  "  It  is  with  sincere  regret 
that  I  write  to  inform  you  that  it  no  longer 
suits  the  convenience  of  the  vestrymen  to 
have  you  occupy  the  church  cottage  on  Fre- 
mont Street.  It  is  to  be  rented  as  soon  as 
a  few  necessary  repairs  can  be  made,  and  in 
the  meantime,  you  will  oblige  us  greatly  by 
moving  out  at  once.  Please  deliver  the  key, 
at  your  earliest  convenience  to  me  at  either 
my  house  or  this  office. 

"Yours  Regretfully, 
"John  W.  Downing.'* 

For  as  much  as  two  minutes  no  one  said 


An  Unexpected  Letter        209 

a  word.  Jean  had  laid  the  open  letter  on 
the  table.  Marjory  and  Bettie  with  their 
arms  tightly  locked,  as  if  both  felt  the  need 
of  support,  re-read  the  closely  written  page 
in  silence  When  they  reached  the  end,  they 
pushed  it  toward  Mabel. 

"  What  does  it  mean  in  plain  English  ?  " 
asked  Mabel,  hoping  that  both  her  eyes  and 
her  ears  had  deceived  her. 

"  That  somebody  else  is  to  have  the  cot- 
tage," said  Jean,  "  and  that  in  the  meantime 
we're  to  move." 

"  In  the  meantime ! "  blurted  Mabel,  with 
swift  wrath.  "  I  should  say  it  was  the 
meantime  —  the  very  meanest  time  anybody 
ever  heard  of.  I'd  just  like  to  know  what 
right  *  Yours-Respectably-John-W.-Down- 
ing '  has  to  turn  us  out  of  our  own  house. 
I  guess  we  paid  our  rent  —  I  guess  there's 
blisters  on  me  yet  —  I  guess  I  dug  dande- 
lions —  I  guess  I ^" 

But  here  Mabel's  indignation  turned  to 
grief,  and  with  one  of  her  very  best  howls 


2IO  Dandelion   Cottage 

and  a  torrent  of  tears,  she  buried  her  face  in 
Jean's  apron. 

"  Bettle,"  asked  Jean  with  her  arms  about 
Mabel,  "  do  you  think  it  would  do  any  good 
to  ask  your  father  about  it  ?  He's  the  min- 
ister, you  know,  and  he  might  explain  to 
Mr.  Downing  that  we  were  promised  the 
cottage  for  all  summer." 

"  Papa  went  away  this  morning  and  won't 
be  home  for  ten  days.  He  has  exchanged 
with  somebody  for  the  next  two  Sundays." 

"  My  pa  —  pa  —  papa's  away,  too," 
sobbed  Mabel,  "or  he'd  tell  that  vile  Mr. 
Downing  that  it  was  all  the  Mill  —  ill  — 
igans'  fault.  They're  the  folks  that  ought 
to  be  turned  out,  and  I  just  wuh  —  wuh  — 
wish  they  —  they  had  been." 

"  Why  wouldn't  it  be  a  good  idea,"  sug- 
gested Marjory,  "  for  us  all  to  go  down  to 
Mr.  Downing's  office  and  tell  him  all  about 
it.  You  see,  he  hasn't  lived  here  very  long 
and  perhaps  he  doesn't  understand  that  we 
have  paid  our  rent  for  all  summer." 


An  Unexpected  Letter   .    211 

"  Yes,"  assented  Jean,  "  that  would  prob- 
ably be  the  best  thing  to  do„  He  won't 
mind  having  us  go  to  the  office  because  he 
told  us  to  take  the  key  there  —  but  where 
is  his  office." 

"  I  know,"  said  Bettie.  "  Here's  the  ad- 
dress on  the  letter,  and  the  dentist  I  go  to  is 
right  near  there,  so  I  can  find  it  easily." 

"  Then  let's  start  right  away,"  cried  eager 
Mabel,  uncovering  a  disheveled  head  and  a 
tear-stained  countenance.  "  Don't  let's  lose 
a  minute." 

"  Mercy  no,"  said  Jean,  taking  Mabel  by 
the  shoulders  and  pushing  her  before  her  to 
the  blue-room  mirror.  "  Do  you  think  you 
can  go  any  place  looking  like  that  ?  Do  you 
think  you  look  like  a  desirable  tenant? 
We've  all  got  to  be  just  as  clean  and  neat 
as  we  can  be.  We've  got  to  impress  him 
with  our  —  our  ladylikeness." 

"  I'll  braid  Mabel's  hair,"  offered  Bettie, 
"  if  Marjory  will  run  around  the  block  and 
get  all  our  hats.     I'm  wearing  Dick's  straw 


212         Dandelion  Cottage 

one  with  the  blue  ribbon,  just  now,  Marjory, 
You'll  find  it  some  place  in  our  front  hall  if 
Tommy  hasn't  got  it  on." 

"  Bring  mine,  too,'*  said  Jean,  "  it's  in  my 
room." 

"  I  don't  know  where  mine  is,"  said  Ma- 
bel, "but  if  you  can't  find  it  you'd  better 
wear  your  Sunday  one  and  lend  me  your 
everyday  one." 

"  I  see  myself  lending  you  any  more 
hats,"  said  Marjory,  who  had,  like  the  other 
girls,  brightened  at  the  prospect  of  going  to 
Mr.  Downing's.  "  I  haven't  forgotten  how 
you  left  the  last  one  out-of-doors  all  night 
in  the  rain,  and  how  it  looked  afterwards, 
when  Aunty  Jane  made  me  wear  it  to  pun- 
ish me  for  my  carelessness.  You'll  go  in 
your  own  hat  or  none." 

"Well,  I  guess,"  said  Mabel,  meekly, 
"you'll  probably  find  it  in  my  room  under 
the  bed,  if  it  isn't  in  the  parlour  behind  the 
sofa." 

"Now  remember,"  said  Jean,  who  was 


An  Unexpected  Letter       213 

re-tying  the  bow  on  Bettie's  hair,  "  we're 
all  to  be  polite,  whatever  happens,  for  we 
mustn't  let  Mr.  Downing  think  we're  any- 
thing like  the  Milligans.  If  he  won't  let 
us  have  the  cottage  when  he  knows  about  the 
rent's  being  paid  —  but  I'm  almost  sure  he 
will  let  us  keep  it  —  why,  we'll  just  have  to 
give  it  up  and  not  let  him  see  that  we  care." 

"  I'll  be  good,"  promised  Bettie. 

"  You  needn't  be  afraid  of  me'^  said  Ma- 
bel. "  I  wouldn't  humble  myself  to  speak, 
to  such  a  despisable  man." 


CHAPTER  XX 

Hn  ©bDurate  3LanMor& 

TWENTY  minutes  later  when  Mr. 
Downing  roared  "COME  IN"  in 
the  terrifying  voice  he  usually  reserved  for 
agents  and  other  unexpected  or  unwelcome 
visitors,  he  was  plainly  very  much  surprised 
to  see  four  pale  girls  with  shocked,  reproach- 
ful eyes  file  in  and  come  to  an  embarrassed 
standstill  just  inside  the  office  door,  which 
closed  of  its  own  accord  and  left  them  im- 
prisoned with  the  enemy. 

"  Oh,  good  morning,"  said  he,  in  a  much 
milder  tone,  as  he  swung  about  in  his  revolv- 
ing chair.  "  What  can  I  do  for  you  ? 
Have  you  brought  the  key  so  soon  ?  " 

"  We  came,"  said  Jean,  propelled  sudden* 

ly  forward  by  a  vigorous  push  from  the  rear, 

"  to  see  you  about  Dandelion  Cottage.     W» 

think  you've  made  a  mistake." 
214 


An  Obdurate  Landlord     215 

"  Indeed !  "  said  Mr.  Downing,  who  did 
not  at  any  time  like  to  be  considered  mis- 
taken.    "  Suppose  you  explain," 

So  sweet-voiced  Jean  explained  all  about 
digging  the  dandelions  to  pay  the  rent,  about 
Mr.  Black's  giving  them  the  key  at  the  end 
of  the  week,  and  about  all  the  lovely  times 
they  had  had  and  were  still  hoping  to  have 
in  their  precious  cottage  before  giving  it  up 
for  the  winter. 

Mr.  Downing,  personally,  did  not  like 
Mr.  Black.  He  had  a  poor  opinion  of  the 
older  man's  business  ability,  and  perhaps  a 
somewhat  exalted  one  of  his  own.  He  con- 
sidered Mr.  Black  old-fashioned  and  far  too 
easy-going;  he  felt  that  parish  affairs  were 
more  likely  to  flourish  in  the  hands  of  a 
younger,  shrewder  and  more  modern  person 
—  he  had  an  idea  that  he  was  that  person. 
At  any  rate,  now  that  Mr.  Black  was  out  of 
town,  Mr.  Downing  was  glad  of  an  oppor- 
tunity to  display  his  own  superior  shrewd- 
ness.    He  would  show  the  vestry  a  thing 


21 6  Dandelion   Cottage 

or  two,  and,  incidentally,  increase  the  parish 
income,  which  as  everybody  knew  stood 
greatly  in  need  of  increasing.  He  had  no 
patience  with  slipshod  methods.  He  was 
truly  sorry  when  business  matters  compelled 
him  to  appear  hard-hearted;  but  to  him  it 
appeared  little  short  of  absurd  for  a  man  of 
Mr.  Black's  years  to  waste  on  four  small 
girls  a  cottage  that  might  be  bringing  in  a 
comfortable  sum  every  month  in  the  year. 

"  Now  that's  a  very  pretty  little  story," 
said  Mr.  Downing,  when  Jean  had  finished. 
"  But  you  see,  you've  already  had  the  cot- 
tage more  than  long  enough  to  pay  you  for 
pulling  those  few  weeds." 

*'Few!''  exclaimed  Mabel,  in  indignant 
protest  and  forgetting  her  promise  of  silence. 
"Few!  Why,  there  were  billions  of  'em. 
If  we'd  been  paid  two  cents  a  hundred  for 
them  we'd  all  be  rich.  Mr.  Black  promised 
us  we  could  have  that  cottage  for  all  sum- 
mer and  our  rent  hasn't  half  perspired  yet." 

"  She   means    ^;rpired,'*   explained   Mar- 


An  Obdurate  Landlord       217 

jory,  "  but  she's  right  for  once.  Mr.  Black 
did  say  we  could  stay  there  all  summer  —  it 
isn't  quite  August  yet,  you  know." 

"  Hum,"  said  Mr.  Downing,  "  nobody 
said  anything  to  me  about  any  such  arrange- 
ment and  I'm  keeping  the  books.  I  don't 
know  what  Mr.  Black  could  have  been  think- 
ing of  if  he  made  any  such  foolish  promise 
as  that.  Of  course  it's  not  binding.  Why! 
that  cottage  ought  to  be  renting  for  ten  or 
twelve  dollars  a  month." 

"  But  the  plaster's  very  bad,"  pleaded 
Bettie,  eagerly,  "  and  the  roof  leaks  in  every 
room  in  the  house  but  one,  and  something's 
the  matter  underneath  so  it's  too  cold  for 
folks  to  live  in  during  the  winter.  It  was 
vacant  for  a  long  time  before  we  had  it." 

"  It  looked  very  comfortable  to  me/'  said 
Mr.  Downing,  who  had  lived  in  the  town 
for  only  a  few  months  and  neither  knew  nor 
suspected  the  real  condition  of  the  house. 
"Fm  afraid  your  arrangement  with  Mr. 
Black  doesn't  hold  good.     Mr.  Morgan  and 


2i8  Dandelion  Cottage 

myself  think  it  best  to  have  the  house  va- 
cated at  once.  You  see  we're  in  danger  of 
losing  the  rent  from  the  next  house  for  the 
Milligans  have  threatened  to  move  out  if 
you  don't." 

"  If  —  if  seven  dollars  and  a  half  would 
do  you  any  good,"  said  Mabel,  "  and  if 
you're  mean  enough  to  take  all  the  money 
we've  got  in  this  world " 

"I'm  not,"  said  Mr.  Downing.  "I'm 
only  reasonable  and  I  want  you  to  be  reason- 
able too.  You  must  look  at  this  thing  from 
a  business  standpoint.  You  see,  the  rent 
from  those  two  houses  should  bring  in  twen- 
ty-five dollars  a  month,  which  isn't  more 
than  a  sufficient  return  for  the  money  in- 
vested.    The  taxes " 

"  A  note  for  you,  Mr.  Downing,"  said  a 
boy,  who  had  quietly  opened  the  office  door. 

"  Why,"  said  Mr.  Downing,  when  he  had 
read  the  note,  "  this  is  really  quite  a  remark- 
able coincidence.  This  communication  is 
from  Mr.  MilUgau,  who  has  ^und  a  desir- 


An  Obdurate  Landlord       219 

able  tenant  for  the  cottage  he  is  now  in,  and 
wishes,  himself,  to  occupy  the  cottage  you 
are  going  to  vacate.  Very  clever  idea  on 
Mr.  Milligan's  part.  This  will  save  him 
five  dollars  a  month,  and  is  a  most  conven- 
ient arrangement  all  around.  He  wishes  to 
move  in  at  once." 

"  Mr.  Milligan !  "  gasped  three  of  the  as- 
tonished girls. 

"Those  Milligans  in  our  house!"  cried 
Mabel.     "  Well,  isn't  that  the  worst !  " 

"  You  see,"  said  Mr.  Downing,  "  it  is 
really  necessary  for  you  to  move  at  once.  I 
think  you  had  better  begin  without  further 
loss  of  time.  Good  morning,  good  morn- 
ing all  of  you,  and  please  believe  me,  I'm 
sorry  about  this  but  it  can't  be  helped." 

"  I  hope,"  said  Mabel,  summoning  all  her 
dignity  for  a  parting  shot,  "  that  you'll  never 
live  long  enough  to  regret  this  —  this  out- 
rage. There  are  seven  rolls  of  paper  on  the 
walls  of  that  cottage  that  belong  to  us,  and 
we  expect  to  be  paid  for  every  one  of  them." 


220  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  How  much  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Downing,  sup- 
pressing a  smile,  for  Mabel  was  never  more 
amusing  than  when  she  was  very  angry. 

"  Five  cents  a  roll  —  thirty-five  cents  al- 
together." 

Mr.  Downing  gravely  reached  into  his 
trousers'  pocket,  fished  up  a  handful  of  loose 
change,  scrupulously  counted  out  three 
dimes  and  a  nickel  and  handed  them  to  Ma- 
bel, who,  with  averted  eyes  and  chin  held 
unnecessarily  high,  accepted  the  price  of  the 
Blossom  wall-paper  haughtily,  and  follow- 
ing the  others,  stalked  from  the  office. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

Submitting  ^o  XLbc  ITnevitable 

THE  unhappy  girls  could  not  trust  them- 
selves to  talk  as  they  hastened  home- 
ward. They  held  hands  tightly,  walking 
four  abreast  along  the  quiet  street,  and  bare- 
ly managed  to  keep  the  tears  back  and  the 
rapidly  swelling  lumps  in  their  little  throats 
successfully  swallowed  until  Jean's  trem- 
bling fingers  had  unlocked  the  cottage  door. 
Then,  with  one  accord,  they  rushed  pell- 
mell  for  the  blue-room  bed,  hurled  them- 
selves upon  its  excelsior  pillows  and  burst 
into  tears.  Jean  and  Bettie  cried  silently 
but  bitterly.  Marjory  wept  audibly,  with 
long,  shuddering  sobs;  but  Mabel  simply 
bawled.  Mabel  always  did  her  crying  on 
the  excellent  principle  that,  if  a  thing  were 
worth  doing  at  all,  it  was  worth  doing  well. 
She  was  doing  it  so  well  on  this  occasion 

221 


222  Dandelion  Cottage 

that  Jean,  who  seldom  cried  and  whose 
puffed,  scarlet  eyelids  contrasted  oddly  and 
rather  pathetically  with  her  colorless  cheeks, 
presently  sat  up  to  remonstrate. 

"  Mabel ! "  she  said,  slipping  an  arm 
about  the  chief  mourner,  "  do  you  want  the 
Milligans  to  hear  you  ?  We're  on  their  side 
of  the  house,  you  know/' 

Jean  couldn't  have  used  a  better  argu- 
ment. Mabel  stopped  short  in  the  middle 
of  one  of  her  very  best  howls,  sat  up  and 
shook  her  head  vigorously. 

"  Well,  I  just  guess  I  don't,"  said  she. 
"  I'd  die  first." 

"  I  thought  so,"  said  Jean,  with  just  a 
faint  glimmer  of  a  smile.  "  We  mustn't  let 
those  people  guess  how  awfully  we  care. 
Go  bathe  your  eyes,  Mabel  —  there  must  be 
a  little  warm  water  in  the  tea  kettle." 

Then  the  comforter  turned  to  Bettie,  and 
made  the  appeal  that  was  most  likely  to 
reach  that  always-ready-to-help  young  per- 
son. 


The  Inevitable  223 

"  Come,  Bettie  dear,  you've  cried  long 
enough.  We  must  get  to  work  for  weVe  a 
tremendous  lot  to  do.  Don't  you  suppose, 
if  we  had  all  the  things  packed  in  baskets  or 
bundles  that  we  could  get  a  few  of  your 
brothers  to  help  us  move  out  after  dark?  I 
just  can't  let  those  Milligans  gloat  over  us 
while  we  go  back  and  forth  with  things." 

Bettie's  only  response  was  a  sob. 

"  Where  in  the  world  can  we  put  the 
things  ?  "  asked  Marjory,  sitting  up  sudden- 
ly and  displaying  a  blotched  and  swollen 
countenance  very  unlike  her  usual  fair,  rose- 
tinted  face.  "  Of  course  we  can  each  take 
our  dolls  and  books  home,  but  our  furni- 
ture  " 

"  I'm  going  to  ask  mother  if  we  can't 
store  it  upstairs  in  our  barn.  I'm  sure  she'll 
let  us." 

"  Oh,  I  wish  Mr.  Black  were  here.  It 
doesn't  seem  possible  we've  really  got  to 
move.  There  must  be  some  way  out  of  it 
Oh  Bettie!  couldn't  we  write  to  Mr.  Black?" 


224  Dandelion   Cottage 

"  It  would  take  too  —  oo  —  oo  long," 
sobbed  Bettie,  sitting  up  and  mopping  her 
eyes  with  the  muslin  window  curtain,  which 
she  could  easily  reach  from  the  foot  of  the 
bed.  "  He's  way  off  in  Washington.  Oh 
dear  —  oh  dear  —  oh  dear !  " 

"  Why  couldn't  we  telegraph  ?  "  demand- 
ed Marjory,  with  whom  hope  died  hard. 
"  Telegrams  go  pretty  fast,  don't  they  ?  " 

"  They  cost  terribly,"  said  Bettie. 
"  They're  almost  as  expensive  as  express 
packages.  Still,  we  might  find  out  what  it 
costs." 

"  I  dough  the  telegraph-mad,"  wheezed 
Mabel  from  the  wash-basin.  "  I'll  go  hobe 
and  telephode  hib  and  ask  what  it  costs  ■ — 
I've  heard  my  father  give  hib  bessages  lots 
of  tibes  —  Oh  by,  by  dose  is  all  stuffed  up." 

"  Try  a  handkerchief,"  suggested  Jean. 
"  Go  ask,  if  you  want  to ;  it  won't  do  any 
harm  nor  probably  any  good." 

Mabel  ran  home,  taking  care  to  keep  her 
back   turned   toward   the   Milligan   house. 


The  Inevitable  225 

During  her  brief  absence,  the  girls  bathed 
their  eyes  and  made  sundry  other  futile  at- 
tempts to  do  away  with  all  outward  signs 
of  grief. 

"  He  says/'  cried  Mabel,  bursting  in  ex- 
citedly, "  that  sixty  cents  is  the  regular  price 
daytimes,  but  it's  forty  cents  for  a  night 
message.  It  seems  kind  of  mean  to  wake 
folks  up  in  the  middle  of  the  night  just  to 
save  twenty  cents,  doesn't  it?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Bettie.  "  I  couldn't  be  im- 
polite enough  to  do  that  to  anybody  I  like 
as  well  as  I  like  Mr.  Black.  If  we  haven't 
money  enough  to  send  a  daytime  message, 
we  mustn't  send  any." 

"  Well,  we  haven't,"  said  Jean.  "  We've 
only  thirty-five  cents." 

"And  we  wouldn't  have  had  that,"  said 
Mabel,  "  if  I  hadn't  remembered  that  wall- 
paper just  in  the  nick  of  time." 

Strangely  enough,  not  one  of  the  girls 
thought  of  the  money  in  the  bank.  Per- 
haps it  did  not  occur  to  them  that  it  would 


226         Dandelion  Cottage 

be  possible  to  remove  any  portion  of  their 
precious  seven  and  a  half  dollars  without 
withdrawing  it  all  —  they  knew  little  of 
business  matters.  Neither  did  they  think 
of  appealing  to  their  parents  for  aid  at  this 
crisis;  but,  indeed,  they  were  all  too  dazed 
from  the  suddenness  and  tremendousness  of 
the  blow  to  think  very  clearly  about  any- 
thing. The  sum  needed  seemed  a  large  one 
to  the  girls,  who  habitually  bought  a  cent's 
worth  of  candy  at  a  time  from  the  generous 
proprietor  of  the  little  corner  shop.  Mabel, 
the  only  one  with  an  allowance,  was,  to  her 
father's  way  of  thinking,  a  hopeless  little 
spendthrift,  already  deeply  plunged  in  debt 
by  her  unpaid  fines  for  lateness  to  meals. 

The  Tucker  income  did  not  go  round  for 
the  grown-ups,  so  of  course  there  were  few 
pennies  for  the  Tucker  children.  Marjory's 
Aunty  Jane  had  ideas  of  her  own  on  the  sub- 
ject of  spending-money  for  little  girls  — 
Marjory  did  not  suspect  that  the  good,  but 
rather  austere  woman  made  a  weekly  pil* 


The  Inevitable  227 

grimage  to  the  bank  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
positing, religiously,  a  small  sum  in  her 
niece's  name,  and  if  she  had  known  it,  Mar- 
jory would  probably  have  been  improvident 
enough  to  prefer  spot  cash  in  smaller 
amounts.  Only  that  morning  tender-heart- 
ed Jean  had  heard  patient  Mrs.  Mapes  la- 
menting because  butter  had  gone  up  two 
cents  a  pound  and  because  all  the  bills  had 
seemed  larger  than  those  of  the  preceding 
month  —  Jean  always  took  the  family  bills 
very  much  to  heart. 

The  girls  sorrowfully  concluded  that  there 
was  nothing  left  for  them  to  do  but  to  obey 
Mr.  Downing.  They  had  looked  forward 
with  dread  to  giving  up  the  cottage  when 
winter  should  come,  but  the  idea  of  losing 
it  in  midsummer  was  a  thousand  time* 
worse. 

"We'll  just  have  to  give  it  up,"  said 
grieved  little  Bettie.  "  There's  nothing  else 
we  can  do,  with  Mr.  Black  away.  When  I 
go  home  to-night  I'll  write  to  him  and  apol- 


228  Dandelion  Cottage 

ogise  about  not  being  able  to  keep  our  prom- 
ise about  the  dinner  party  —  that's  the  hard- 
est thing  of  all  to  give  up." 

"But  you  don't  know  his  address/*  ob' 
jected  Jean. 

"  Yes  I  do,  for  father  wrote  to  him  about 
some  church  business  this  morning,  before 
going  away,  and  gave  Dick  the  letter  to 
mail.  Of  course  Dick  forgot  all  about  it 
and  left  it  on  the  hall  mantelpiece.  It's 
probably  there  yet,  for  I'm  the  only  person 
that  ever  remembers  to  mail  father's  letters 
—  he  forgets  them  himself  most  of  the 
time." 

"Now  let's  get  to  work,"  said  Jean. 
"  Since  we  have  to  move  let's  pretend  we 
really  want  to  —  I've  always  thought  it 
must  be  quite  exciting  to  really  truly  move. 
You  see,  we  must  get  it  over  before  the 
Milligans  guess  that  we've  begun,  and  there 
isn't  any  too  much  time  left.  I'll  begin  to 
take  down  the  things  in  the  parlour  and  tie 
them  up  in  the  bed  clothes.    We'll  leave  all 


The  Inevitable  229 

the  curtains  until  the  last  so  that  no  one  will 
know  what  we're  doing." 

"  ril  help  you,"  said  Bettie. 

"  Mabel  and  I  might  be  packing  the  dish- 
es," said  Marjory.  "  It  will  be  easier  to  do 
it  while  we  have  the  table  left  to  work  on. 
Come  along,  Mabel." 

Mabel  followed  obediently.  When  the 
forlorn  pair  reached  the  kitchen,  Marjory 
announced  her  intention  of  exploring  the 
little  shed  for  empty  baskets,  leaving  Mabel 
to  stack  the  cups  and  plates  in  compact  piles. 
Mabel,  without  knowing  just  why  she  did 
it,  picked  up  her  old  friend,  the  cracked 
lemonade-pitcher  and  gave  it  a  little  shake. 
Something  rattled.  Mabel,  always  an  in- 
quisitive young  person,  thrust  her  fingers 
into  the  dusty  depths  to  bring  up  a  piece 
of  money  —  two  pieces  —  three  —  pieces  — 
four  pieces. 

"Oh!"  she  gasped,  "it's  my  lemonade 
money.     Oh,  what  a  lucky  omen!    Girls  1 


230  Dandelion  Cottage 

*     '  ■"^— ■ 

The  next  instant  Mabel  clapped  a  plump, 
dusty  hand  over  her  own  lips  to  keep  them 
from  announcing  the  discovery,  and  then, 
stealthily  concealing  the  twenty  cents  in  the 
pocket  that  still  contained  the  wall-paper 
money,  she  stole  quickly  through  the  cottage 
and  ran  to  her  own  home. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

/iBabcl  iplana  H  Surprise 

^T^HE  girls  were  indignant  later  when 
A  they  discovered  Mabel's  apparent  de- 
sertion. It  was  precisely  like  Mabel,  they 
said,  to  shirk  when  there  was  anything  un- 
pleasant to  be  done.  For  once,  however, 
they  were  wronging  Mabel  —  poor,  self- 
sacrificing  Mabel,  who  with  fifty-five  cents 
at  her  disposal,  was  planning  a  beauti- 
ful surprise  for  her  unappreciative  cot- 
tage-mates. The  girls  might  have  known 
that  nothing  short  of  an  ambitious  project 
for  saving  the  cottage  from  the  Milligans 
would  have  kept  the  child  away  when  so 
much  was  going  on.  For  Mabel  was  at 
that  very  moment  doing  what  was  for  her 
the  hardest  kind  of  work;  all  alone  in  her 
own  room  at  home  she  was  laboriously  com- 
posing a  telegram. 

231 


23a  Dandelion  Cottage 

She  had  never  sent  a  telegram,  nor  had 
she  even  read  one.  She  could  not  consult 
her  mother  because  Mrs.  Bennett  had  incon- 
siderately gone  down  town  to  do  her  mar- 
keting. Dr.  Bennett,  however,  was  a  very 
busy  man  and  sometimes  received  a  number 
of  important  messages  in  one  day.  Mabel 
felt  that  the  occasion  justified  her  studying 
several  late  specimens  which  she  resurrected 
from  the  waste-paper  basket  under  her  fa- 
ther's desk.  These,  however,  proved  rather 
unsatisfactory  models  since  none  of  them 
seemed  to  exactly  fit  the  existing  emergency. 
Most  of  them,  indeed,  were  in  cipher. 

"  I  suppose,"  said  Mabel,  nibbling  hef 
pen-holder  thoughtfully,  "they  make  'em 
short  so  they'll  fit  these  little  sheets  of  yel- 
low paper,  but  there's  lots  more  space  they 
might  use  if  they  didn't  leave  such  wide 
margins.  I'll  write  small  so  I  can  say  all  I 
want  to,  but  dear  me,  I  can't  think  of  a  thing 
to  say." 

It  took  a  long  time,  but  the  message  was 


Mabel  Plans  A  Surprise     233 

finished  at  last.  With  a  deep  sigh  of  satis-^ 
faction,  Mabel  folded  it  neatly  and  put  it 
into  an  envelope  which  she  carefully  sealed. 
Then,  putting  on  her  hat,  and  taking  the 
telegram  with  her,  she  ran  to  Bettie's  home 
and  opened  the  door  —  none  of  the  four 
girls  were  required  to  ring  each  other's  door- 
bells. There,  sure  enough,  was  the  letter 
waiting  to  be  mailed  to  Mr.  Black.  Mabel, 
who  had  thought  to  bring  a  pencil,  copied 
the  address  in  her  big,  vertical  hand-writing, 
and  without  further  ado  ran  with  it  to  her 
friend,  the  telegraph  operator,  whose  office 
was  just  around  the  corner.  All  the  dis- 
tances in  the  little  town  were  short,  and  Ma- 
bel had  frequently  been  sent  to  the  place 
with  messages  written  by  her  father,  so  she 
did  not  feel  the  need  of  asking  permission. 

The  clerk  opened  the  envelope  —  Mabel 
considered  this  decidedly  rude  of  him  —  and 
proceeded  to  read  the  message.  It  took  him 
a  long  time.  Then  he  looked  from  Mabel's 
flushed  cheeks  and  eager  eyes  to  the  little 


234         Dandelion  Cottage 

collection  of  nickels  and  dimes  she  had 
placed  on  the  counter.  Mabel  wondered 
why  the  young  man  chewed  the  ends  of  his 
sandy  moustache  so  vigorously.  Perhaps 
he  was  amused  at  something;  she  looked 
about  the  little  office  to  see  what  it  could  be 
that  pleased  him  so  greatly,  but  there  seemed 
to  be  nothing  to  excite  mirth.  She  decided 
that  he  was  either  a  very  cheerful  young 
man,  naturally,  or  else  he  was  feeling  joyful 
because  the  clock  said  that  it  was  nearly  time 
for  luncheon. 

"  It'll  be  all  right,  Miss  Mabel,"  said  he 
at  last.  "  It's  a  pretty  good  fifty-five  cents' 
worth;  but  I  guess  Mr.  Black  won't  object 
to  that.  I  hope  you'll  always  come  to  me 
when  you  have  messages  to  send." 

"  I  won't  if  you  go  and  read  them  all," 
said  Mabel,  at  which  her  friend  looked  even 
more  cheerful  than  he  had  before. 

Ten  minutes  later,  Mabel  mumbling  some- 
thing about  having  had  an  errand  to  attend 
to,  presented  herself  at  the  cottage.     Beyond 


Mabei  Plans  A  Surprise     235 

a  few  meekly-received  reproaches  from  Mar- 
jory, no  one  said  anything  about  the  unex- 
plained absence.  Indeed,  they  were  all  too 
busy  and  too  preoccupied  to  care ;  the  great- 
er grief  of  losing  the  cottage  having  swal- 
lowed up  all  lesser  cares. 

At  a  less  trying  time  the  girls  would  have 
discovered  within  ten  minutes  that  Mabel 
was  suffering  from  a  suppressed  secret ;  but 
now,  everything  was  changed.  Although 
Mabel  fairly  bristled  with  importance  and 
gave  out  sundry  very  broad  hints,  no  one 
paid  the  slightest  attention.  Gradually,  in 
the  stress  of  packing,  the  matter  of  the  tele- 
gram faded  from  Mabel's  short  memory,  for 
preparing  to  move  proved  a  most  exciting 
operation;  and  also  a  harrowing  one. 
Every  few  moments  somebody  would  say: 
"  Our  last  day,''  and  then  the  other  three 
would  fall  to  weeping  on  anything  that  hap- 
pened to  come  handy.  Of  course  the  pack- 
ing had  stirred  up  considerable  dust;  this 
mingled  with  tears  added  much  to  the  for- 


236  Dandelion  Cottage 

lornness  of  the  cottagers'  appearance,  when 
they  went  home  at  noon  with  their  news. 

The  parents  and  Aunty  Jane  said  it  was 
a  shame,  but  all  agreed  that  there  was  noth- 
ing to  be  done.  All  were  sorry  to  have  the 
girls  deprived  of  the  cottage,  for  the  mothers 
had  certainly  found  it  a  relief  to  have  their 
little  daughters*  leisure  hours  so  safely  and 
so  happily  occupied.  Mabel's  mother  was 
especially  sorry. 

Never  was  moving  more  melancholy  nor 
house  more  forlorn  when  the  moving,  done 
after  dark  with  great  caution,  and  mostly 
through  the  dining-room  window  on  the  side 
of  the  house  furthest  from  the  Milligans, 
was  finally  accomplished.  The  Tucker  boys 
had  been  only  too  delighted  to  help.  By 
bedtime  the  cottage  was  empty  of  every- 
thing but  the  curtains  on  the  Milligan  side 
of  the  house.  An  hour  later  the  tired  girls 
were  asleep ;  but  under  each  pillow  there  was 
a  handkerchief  rolled  in  a  tight,  grimy  little 
ball  and  soaked  with  tears. 


Mabel  Plans  A  Surprise     237 

In  the  morning,  the  girls  returned  for  a 
last  look,  and  for  the  remaining  curtains. 
Dandelion  cottage,  stripped  of  its  furniture 
and  without  its  pictures,  showed  its  age  and 
all  its  infirmities.  Great  patches  of  plaster 
and  wall-paper  were  missing,  for  the  gay- 
posters  had  covered  a  multitude  of  defects. 
The  indignant  Tucker  boys  had  disobeyed 
Bettie  and  had  removed  not  only  the  tin  they 
had  put  on  the  leaking  roof,  but  the  steps 
they  had  built  at  the  back  door,  the 
drain  they  had  found  it  necessary  to 
place  under  the  kitchen  sink,  and  the  bricks 
with  which  they  had  propped  the  tottering 
chimneys. 

Before  the  day  was  over,  the  tenants 
whom  the  Milligans  had  found  for  their  own 
house  were  clamouring  to  move  in,  so  the 
Milligans  took  possession  of  the  cottage  late 
that  afternoon,  getting  the  key  from  Mr. 
Powning,  into  whose  keeping  the  girls  had 
silently  delivered  it  that  morning.  To  do 
Mr.  Downing  justice,  nothing  had  previous- 


238         Dandelion  Cottage 

ly  hurt  him  quite  as  much  as  did  the  digni- 
fied silence  of  the  three  pale  girls  who  waited 
for  a  moment  in  the  doorway,  while  equally 
pallid  Jean  went  quietly  forward  to  lay  the 
key  on  his  desk.  He  realised  suddenly  that 
not  one  of  them  could  have  spoken  a  word 
without  bursting  into  tears ;  and,  for  the  rest 
of  that  day,  he  hated  himself  most  heartily. 


M 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

Several  Surptises  ^afte  ^Effect 

R.  BLACK  opened  the  door  of  his 
hotel  apartment  in  Washington  one 
sultry  noon  in  response  to  a  vigorous,  pro- 
longed rapping  from  without.  The  bell- 
boy handed  him  a  telegram.  When  Mr. 
Black  had  read  the  long  message  he  smiled 
and  frowned,  but  cheerfully  paid  the  three 
dollars  and  forty-one  cents  additional  charg- 
es that  the  messenger  demanded. 

It  was  Mabel's  message;  the  clerk  had 
transmitted  it  faithfully,  even  to  the  two 
mis-spelled  words  that  had  proved  too  much 
for  the  excited  little  writer.  If  the  receiv- 
ing clerk  had  not  considerately  tucked  in  a 
few  periods  for  the  sake  of  clearness,  there 
would  have  been  no  punctuation  marks,  be- 
cause, as  everybody  knows,  very  few  tele- 
239 


2.40         Dandelion  Cottage 

grams  are  punctuated ;  but  Mabel,  of  course, 
had  not  taken  that  into  consideration.  It 
was  quite  the  longest  message  and  certainly 
the  most  amusing  one  that  Mr.  Black  had 
ever  received.     It  read : 

"  Dear  Mr.  Black, 

"  We  are  well  but  terribly  unhappy  for 
the  worst  has  happened.  Cant  you  come 
to  the  reskew  as  they  say  in  books  for  we 
are  really  in  great  trouble  because  the  Milli- 
gans  a  very  unpolite  and  untruthful  famil}/ 
next  door  want  dandelion  cottage  for  them- 
selves the  pigs  and  Mr.  Downing  says  we 
must  move  out  at  once  and  return  the  key 
our  own  darling  key  that  you  gave  us.  We 
are  moving  out  now  and  crying  so  hard  we 
can  hardly  write.  I  mean  myself.  Is  Mr. 
Downing  the  boss  of  the  whole  church. 
Cant  you  tell  him  we  truly  paid  the  rent  for 
all  summer  by  digging  dandelions.  He 
does  not  believe  us.  We  are  too  sad  to 
write  any  more  with  love  from  your  little 
friends 

"  Jean  Marjory  Bettie  and  I." 

P.  S.  How  about  your  dinner  party  if 
we  lose  the  cottage. 


Surprises  Take  Effect        241 

Mr.  Black  read  and  re-read  the  typewrit- 
ten yellow  sheet  a  great  many  times ;  some- 
times he  frowned,  sometimes  he  chuckled; 
the  postscript  seemed  to  please  him  particu- 
larly, for,  whenever  he  reached  that  point, 
his  deep-set  eyes  twinkled  merrily.  Pres- 
ently he  propped  the  despatch  against  the 
wall  at  the  back  of  his  table  and  sat  down  in 
front  of  it  to  write  a  reply.  He  wrote  sev- 
eral messages,  some  long,  some  short;  then 
he  tore  them  all  up  —  they  seemed  inade- 
quate compared  with  Mabel's. 

"  That  man  Downing,"  said  he,  dropping 
the  scraps  into  the  waste  basket,  "means 
well,  but  he  muddles  every  pie  he  puts  his 
finger  in.  Probably  if  I  wire  him  he'll 
botch  things  worse  than  ever.  Dear  me,  it 
is  toe  bad  for  those  nice  children  to  lose  any 
part  of  their  precious  stay  in  that  cottage, 
now,  for  of  course  they'll  have  to  give  it  up 
when  cold  weather  comes.  If  I  can  wind 
my  business  up  to-day  there  isn't  any  good 
reason  why  I  can't  go  straight  through  with- 


Z4'2         Dandelion  Cottage 

out  stopping  in  Chicago.  It's  time  I  was 
home,  anyway;  it's  pretty  warm  here  for  a 
man  that  likes  a  cold  climate." 

Meanwhile,  things  were  happening  in  Mr. 
Black's  own  town. 

It  was  a  dark,  threatening  day  when  the 
Milligans,  delighted  at  the  success  of  their 
efforts  to  dislodge  its  rightful  tenants,  hur- 
riedly moved  into  Dandelion  Cottage;  but 
dark  as  it  was,  Mrs.  Milligan  soon  began  to 
find  her  new  possession  full  of  unsuspected 
blemishes.  Now  that  the  pictures  were 
down  and  the  rugs  were  up,  she  discovered 
the  badly  broken  plaster,  the  tattered  condi- 
tion of  the  wall-paper,  the  leaking  drain  and 
the  clumsily  mended  rat-holes.  She  found, 
too,  that  she  had  made  a  grievous  mistake 
in  her  calculations.  She  had  supposed  that 
the  tiny  pantry  was  a  third  bedroom;  with 
iits  neat  muslin  curtains,  it  certainly  looked 
like  one  when  viewed  from  the  outside ;  and 
crafty  Laura,  intensely  desirous  of  seeing 
the  enemy  ousted  from  the  cottage  at  any 


Surprises  Take  Effect        243 

price,  had  not  considered  it  necessary  to  en- 
lighten her  mother. 

"  My  goodness !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Milli- 
gan,  a  thin  woman  with  a  shrewish  counte- 
nance now  much  streaked  with  dust,  "  I 
thought  you  said  there  was  a  fine  cellar  un- 
der this  house?  It's  barely  three  feet  deep 
and  there's  no  stairs  and  no  floor.  It's  full 
of  old  rubbish." 

"  I  never  was  down  there,"  admitted 
Laura,  dropping  a  dishpanful  of  cooking 
utensils  with  a  crash  and  hastily  making  for 
safe  quarters  behind  a  mountain  of  Milligan 
furniture,  "but  I've  often  seen  the  trap 
door." 

"  It  hasn't  been  opened  for  years.  And 
Where's  the  nice  big  closet  you  said  opened 
off  the  bedroom?  There  isn't  a  decent 
closet  in  this  house.  I  don't  see  what  pos- 
sessed you " 

"  It  serves  you  right,"  said  Mr.  Milligan, 
unsympathetically.  "You  wouldn't  wait 
for  anything,  but  had  to  rush  right  in.     I 


244         Dandelion  Cottage 

told  you  you'd  better  take  your  time  about 
it,  but  no " 

"  You  know  very  well,  James  Milligan," 
snapped  the  irate  lady,  "that  the  Knapps 
wouldn't  have  taken  our  house  if  they 
couldn't  have  had  it  at  once." 

"  Well,  I  don't  know,"  growled  Mr.  Milli- 
gan, scowling  crossly  at  the  constantly 
growing  heaps  of  incongruously  mixed 
household  goods,  "  where  in  Sam  Hill 
you're  going  to  put  all  that  stuff.  There 
isn't  room  for  a  cat  to  turn  around  and  the 
place  ain't  fit  to  live  in,  anyway." 

Bad  as  things  looked,  even  Mr.  Milligan 
did  not  guess  that  first  busy  day,  how  hope- 
lessly out  of  repair  the  cottage  really  was; 
but  he  was  soon  to  find  out. 

The  summer  had  been  an  unusually  dry 
one;  so  dry  that  the  girls  had  been  obliged 
to  carry  many  pails  of  water  to  their  garden 
every  evening.  The  moving-day  had  been 
cloudy  —  out  of  sympathy,  perhaps,  for  the 
little  cottagers.     That  night  it  rained,  the 


Surprises  Take  Effect        245 

first  long,  steady  downpour  in  weeks.  This 
proved  no  gentle  shower,  but  a  fierce,  robust, 
pelting  flood.  Seemingly  a  discriminating 
rain,  too,  choosing  carefully  between  the 
just  and  the  unjust,  for  most  of  it  fell  upon 
the  Milligans.  With  the  sole  exception  of 
the  dining-room,  every  room  in  the  house 
leaked  like  a  sieve. 

The  tired,  disgusted  Milligans,  drenched 
in  their  beds,  leaped  hastily  from  their  show- 
er baths  to  look  about,  by  candle-light,  for 
shelter.  Mr.  Milligan  spread  a  mattress, 
driest  side  up  —  on  the  dining-room  floor, 
and  the  unfortunate  family  spent  the  rest 
of  the  night  huddled  in  an  uncomfortable 
heap  in  the  one  dry  spot  the  house  afforded. 

Very  early  the  next  morning  they  sent 
post-haste  for  Mr.  Downing. 

Mr.  Downing,  who  hated  to  be  disturbed 
before  eight,  arrived  at  ten  o'clock;  and, 
with  an  expert  carpenter,  made  a  thorough 
examination  of  the  house,  which  the  rain 
had  certainly  not  improved. 


246  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  It  will  take  three  hundred  —  possibly 
four  hundred  dollars,"  said  the  carpenter, 
who  had  been  making  a  great  many  figure? 
in  a  worn  little  note-book,  "to  make  this 
place  habitable.  It  needs  a  new  roof,  new 
chimneys,  new  floors,  a  new  foundation, 
new  plumbing,  new  plaster  —  in  short,  just 
about  everything  except  the  four  outside 
walls.  Then  there  are  no  lights  and  no 
heating  plant,  which  of  course  would  be  ex- 
tra. It's  probably  one  of  the  oldest  houses 
in  town.     What's  it  renting  for  ?  " 

"  Ten  dollars  a  month." 

"It  isn't  worth  it.  Half  that  money 
would  be  a  high  price.  Even  if  it  were 
placed  in  good  repair  it  would  be  six  years 
at  least  before  you  could  expect  to  get  the 
money  expended  on  repairs  back  in  rent. 
The  only  thing  to  do  is  to  tear  it  down,  build 
a  larger  and  more  modern  house  that  will 
bring  a  better  rent,  for  there's  no  money  in 
a  ten-dollar  house  on  a  lot  of  this  size—* 
the  ta*rf>^  eat  all  the  profits." 


'We're  the  people  that  have  been  deceived,"  said  Mrs. 

MiLLIGAN. P.  247. 


Surprises  Take  Effect        247 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Downing,  "  this  house 
certainly  looked  far  more  comfortable  when 
I  saw  it  the  other  day  than  it  does  now. 
Those  children  must  have  had  the  defects 
very  well  concealed.  They  deceived  me 
completely." 

"  I  think  we're  the  people,"  said  Mrs.  Mil- 
ligan,  resentfully,  "  that  have  been  deceived. 
Half  of  our  furniture  is  ruined.  Look  at 
that  sofa!" 

Mr.  Downing  looked.  The  drenched  old- 
gold  plush  sofa  certainly  looked  very  much 
like  a  half-drowned  Jersey  calf. 

"  Of  course,"  continued  Mrs.  Milligan, 
sharply,  "  we  expect  to  have  our  losses  made 
good.  Then  we've  had  all  our  trouble  for 
nothing,  too.  Of  course  we  can't  stay  here 
—  the  place  isn't  fit  for  pigs.  I  suppose  the 
best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  move  right  back 
into  our  own  house." 

"  Ye  —  es,"  said  Mr.  Milligan,  overlook- 
ing the  fact  that  Mrs.  Milligan  had  inad- 
vertently called  her  family  pigs,   "it  cer- 


248  Dandelion  Cottage 

tainly  looks  like  the  best  thing  to  do.  I'll 
go  tell  the  Knapps  that  they'll  have  to  move 
out  at  once  —  we  can't  spend  another  night 
under  this  roof." 

The  Knapps,  however,  proved  disobliging 
and  flatly  declined  to  move  a  second  time. 
The  Milligans  had  begged  them  to  take  the 
house  off  their  hands,  and  they  had  signed 
a  contract.  Moreover,  it  was  just  the  kind 
of  house  the  Knapps  had  long  been  looking 
for,  and  now  that  they  were  moved,  more 
than  half  settled  and  altogether  satisfied 
with  their  part  of  the  bargain,  they  politely 
but  firmly  announced  their  intention  of  stay- 
ing where  they  were  until  the  lease  should 
expire. 

There  was  nothing  the  former  tenants 
could  do  about  it  —  they  were  homeless  and 
quite  as  helpless  as  the  four  little  girls  had 
been  in  similar  circumstances;  and  they 
made  a  far  greater  fuss  about  it.  By  this 
they  gained,  however,  nothing  but  the  dis« 
approval  of  everybody  concerned ;  so,  finally. 


Surprises  Take  Effect        249 

the  Milllgans,  disgusted  with  Dandelion 
Cottage,  with  Mr.  Downing  and  for  once 
even  a  little  bit  with  themselves,  dejectedly 
hunted  up  a  new  home  in  a  far  less  pleasant 
neighbourhood,  and  moved  hurriedly  out  of 
Dandelion  Cottage  —  and,  except  for  the 
memories  they  left  behind  them,  out  of  the 
story. 


CHAPTER  XXrV 

B  SKurrieD  TRetreat 

THE  girls,  of  course,  had  been  barred 
out  while  all  these  exciting  latest 
events  were  taking  place  in  their  dear  cot- 
tage; but  Marjory,  who  lived  next  door  to 
it,  had  seen  something  of  the  Milligans' 
hasty  exit,  and  had  guessed  at  part  of  the 
truth.  Mrs.  Knapp,  who  seemed  a  pleasant, 
likeable  little  woman,  in  spite  of  her  unwill- 
ingness to  accommodate  her  new  landlord, 
unknowingly  confirmed  their  suspicions 
when  she  told  her  friend  Mrs.  Crane  about 
it ;  for  Mrs.  Crane,  in  her  turn,  told  the  news 
to  the  four  little  housekeepers  the  next 
morning  as  they  sat  homeless  and  forlorn 
on  her  doorstep.  It  was  always  Mrs.  Crane 
to  whom  the  Dandelion  Cottagers  turned 

whenever  they  were  in  need  of  consolation 
250 


A  Hurried  Retreat         251 

and,  as  in  this  case,  consolation  was  usually 
forthcoming. 

The  girls,  in  their  excitement  at  hearing 
the  news  about  their  late  possession,  did  not 
notice  that  sympathetic  Mrs.  Crane  looked 
tired  and  worried  as  she  sat,  in  the  big  red 
rocking  chair  on  her  porch,  peeling  potatoes. 

"  Oh !  "  squealed  Mabel,  from  the  broad 
arm  of  Mrs.  Crane's  chair,  "  I'm  glad !  I'm 
glad!  I'm  glad!" 

"  I  can't  help  being  a  little  bit  glad,  too," 
said  fair-minded  Jean.  "  I  suppose  it 
wasn't  very  pleasant  for  the  Milligans  but  I 
guess  they  deserved  all  they  got." 

"  They  deserved  a  great  deal  more,"  said 
Marjory,  resentfully.  "  Think  of  these  last 
awful  days ! " 

"  If  they'd  had  much  more,"  said  Mrs. 
Crane,  "  they'd  have  been  drowned.  Why 
children!  the  place  was  just  flooded." 

"  I'm  ashamed  to  tell  of  it,"  said  Bettie, 
"  but  I'm  awfully  afraid  that  our  boys  took 
off  part  of  the  pieces  of  tin  that  they  nailed 


^52  Dandelion  Cottage 

on  the  roof  last  spring.  I  heard  them  doing 
something  up  there  the  night  we  moved ;  but 
Bob  only  grinned  when  I  asked  him  about 
it" 

"  Good  for  the  boys !  *'  cried  Marjory, 
gleefully.  "  I  wouldn't  be  unladylike 
enough  to  set  traps  for  the  Milligans  myself, 
but  I  can't  help  feeling  glad  that  somebody 
else  did.'*' 

"  It  was  Bob's  own  tin,"  giggled  delight- 
ed Mabel,  almost  tumbling  into  Mrs.  Crane's 
potato  pan  in  her  joy.  "  I  guess  he  had  a 
right  to  take  it  home  if  he  wanted  to." 

"  Anyway,"  said  Jean,  from  her  perch  on 
the  porch  railing,  "  I'm  glad  they're  gone.** 

"  But  it  doesn't  do  us  any  good,"  sighed 
Bettie.     "  And  the  summer's  just  flying." 

"  Yes  it  does,"  insisted  Jean.  "  We  can 
stand  having  the  cottage  empty  —  we  can 
pretend,  you  know,  that  it's  an  enchanted 
castle  that  can  be  opened  only  by  a  certain 
magic  key  that " 

"  Somebody's  baby  has  swallowed/' 
shrieked  Mabel,  the  matter-of-farJ^ 


A  Hurried  Retreat         253 

**  Mercy  no,  goosie,"  said  Marjory. 
**  She  means  a  magic  word  that  nobody  can 
remember." 

"  That's  it,"  said  Jean.  "  Of  course  we 
couldn't  do  even  that  with  the  cottage  full 
of  Milligans." 

"  No,"  assented  Marjory,  "  the  most  act- 
ive imagination  would  refuse  to  activitate 

"To  what?"  gasped  Mabel. 

"  To  work,"  explained  Marjory. 

"  I  should  say  so,"  agreed  Mabel,  again 
threatening  the  potatoes.  "  It  was  just  as 
much  as  I  could  do  to  come  over  here  this 
morning  to  breathe  the  same  air  with  that 
cottage  with  those  folks  in  it  staring  me  in 
the  face,  but  now " 

"After  all,"  sighed  Bettie,  sorrowfully, 
from  the  other  arm  of  Mrs.  Crane's  big 
chair,  "  having  the  Milligans  out  of  the  cot- 
tage doesn't  make  much  difference,  as  long 
as  we're  out,  too.  Oh,  I  did  love  that  little 
house  so.     I  just  hated  to  think  of  cold 


254  Dandelion  Cottage 

weather  coming  to  drive  us  out ;  but  I  never 
dreamed  of  anything  so  dreadful  as  having 
to  leave  it  right  in  this  lovely  warm 
weather." 

"  If  Mr.  Black  had  stayed  in  town,"  said 
Mabel,  feelingly,  "  we'd  be  dusting  that  dar* 
ling  cottage  this  very  minute." 

Mrs.  Crane  sniffed  in  an  odd  way  she  had 
of  doing  whenever  Mr.  Black's  name  was 
mentioned.  This  scornful  sniff,  accom- 
panying Mrs.  Crane's  evident  disapproval 
of  their  dearest  friend  was  the  only  thing 
that  the  girls  disliked  about  Mrs.  Crane. 

"  I  know  you'd  like  Mr.  Black  if  you  only 
knew  him,"  said  Bettie,  earnestly.  '^  In 
some  ways  you're  a  good  deal  like  him. 
You're  both  the  same  colour,  your  eyebrows 
turn  up  the  same  way  at  the  outside  corners 
and  you  both  like  us.  Mr.  Black  has  a 
beautiful  soul." 

"Indeed,"  said  Mrs.  Crane.  "And 
haven't  I  a  beautiful  soul  too  ?  " 

"Why,  of  course,"  said  Bettie,  leaning 


A  Hurried  Retreat  255 

down  to  rub  her  cheek  against  Mrs.  Crane's. 
"  I  meant  both  of  you :  We  like  you  both 
just  the  same." 

"Only  ifs  different,"  explained  Jean. 
**  Mr.  Black  doesn't  need  us  and  sometimes 
you  do.     We  like  to  do  things  for  you." 

"I'm  glad  of  that,"  said  Mrs.  Crane, 
"  for  I  need  you  this  very  minute.  But 
don't  you  be  too  sure  about  his  not  needing 
you  as  well.  He  must  lead  a  pretty  lonely 
life  for  it's  years  since  his  wife  died  —  I 
never  heard  of  anybody  else  liking  her  but  I 
guess  he  did.  He's  one  of  the  faithful  kind, 
maybe,  for  he's  lived  all  alone  in  that  great 
big  house  ever  since.  I  guess  it  does  him 
good  to  have  you  little  girls  for  friends." 

"  What  was  his  wife  like  ?  "  asked  Mabel, 
eagerly.     "  Did  you  used  to  know  her  ?  " 

"  No,  indeed,"  said  Mrs.  Crane,  again 
giving  the  objectionable  sniff.  "  That  is, 
not  so  very  well  —  a  little  light-headed,  use- 
less thing  no  more  fit  to  keep  house  —  but 
there!  there.     It  doesn't  make  any  differ- 


256  Dandelion  Cottage 


ence  noWj  and  I've  learned  that  it  Isn't  the 
best  housekeepers  that  get  married  easiest. 
If  it  was,  I  wouldn't  be  so  worried  nozv." 

"  Is  anything  the  matter  ?  "  asked  Jean, 
quick  to  note  the  distress  in  Mrs.  Crane's 
voice. 

"  Yes/'  returned  the  good  woman,  "  there 
are  two  things  the  matter." 

"Your  poor  foot?"  queried  Bettie.  in- 
stantly all  sympathy. 

"  No,  the  foot's  all  right.  It's  Mr.  Bar- 
low and  my  eyes.  Mr.  Barlow  is  going  to 
be  married  to  a  young  lady  he's  been  writing 
to  for  a  long  time,  and  I'm  going  to  lose 
him  because  he  wants  to  keep  house.  It 
won't  be  easy  to  find  another  lodger  for  that 
little,  shabby,  old-fashioned  room.  I'm  try- 
ing to  make  a  new  rag  carpet  for  it,  but  I'm 
all  at  a  standstill  because  I  can't  see  to 
thread  my  needle  —  I  declare  I  don't  know 
what  is  going  to  become  of  me." 

"When  I  grow  up,"  said  Bettie,  "you 
shall  live  with  me." 


A  Hurried  Retreat  257 

"  But  what  am  I  to  do  while  I'm  waiting 
for  you  to  grow  up  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Crane, 
smiling  at  Bettie's  protecting  manner. 

"  Let  us  be  your  eyes/'  suggested  Jean. 
"  Couldn't  we  thread  about  a  million  needles 
for  you  ?  Don't  you  think  a  million  would 
last  all  day?" 

"  I  should  think  it  might,"  said  Mrs. 
Crane,  somewhat  comforted.  "  I  haven't 
quite  a  million,  but  if  Marjory  will  get  my 
cushion  and  a  spool  of  cotton  I'll  be  very 
glad  to  have  you  thread  all  I  have." 

The  girls  worked  in  silence  for  fully  five 
minutes.  Then  Mabel  jabbed  the  solitary 
needle  she  had  threaded  into  the  sawdust 
cushion  and  said : 

"  Don't  you  suppose  Mr.  Downing  might 
let  us  have  the  cottage  now,  if  we  went  to 
him?  Nobody  else  seems  to  care  about  it. 
What  do  you  think,  Mrs.  Crane  ?  " 

"  Why,  my  dear,  I  suppose  it  wouldn't 
do  any  harm  to  ask.  You'd  better  see  what 
your  own  people  think  about  it." 


258  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  Lef  s  go  ask  them  now,"  cried  impetu- 
ous Mabel,  springing  to  her  feet.  Forget- 
ting all  about  the  needles  and  without  wait- 
ing to  say  good-bye  to  Mrs.  Crane,  the  eager 
girl  made  a  diagonal  rush  for  the  corner 
nearest  her  own  home. 

The  others  remained  long  enough  to 
thread  all  the  needles.  Then  they,  too,  went 
home  with  the  news  about  the  cottage  and 
about  Mrs.  Crane.  They  were  realizing, 
for  the  first  time,  that  their  good  friend 
might  become  helpless  long  before  they  were 
ready  to  use  her  as  a  grandmother  for  their 
children,  but  they  couldn't  see  just  what  was 
to  be  done  about  it.  The  idea  of  going  to 
Mr.  Downing,  however,  soon  drove  every 
3ther  thought  away,  for  the  parents  and 
Aunty  Jane,  too,  advised  them  to  ask. 
They  even  encouraged  them. 

But  when  Jean  and  Bettie,  hopefully 
dressed  in  their  Sunday-best,  and  Marjory 
and  Mabel,  with  their  abundant  locks  elab- 
orately curled  besides,  presented  themselves 


A  Hurried  Retreat  259 

and  their  request  at  Mr.  Downlng's  house 
that  evening,  they  were  not  at  all  encouraged 
by  their  reception. 

Mr.  Downing,  a  man  of  moods,  had  just 
come  off  second  best  in  an  encounter  with 
Mrs.  Milligan,  whom  he  had  accidentally 
met  on  his  way  home  to  dinner,  and  the  cot- 
tage, at  the  moment  the  girls  appeared,  was 
just  about  the  last  subject  that  the  badgered 
man  cared  to  discuss.  Before  Jean  had 
fairly  stated  her  errand,  enraged  Mr.  Down- 
ing roared  "  NO ! "  so  emphatically,  that  hia 
four  alarmed  visitors  backed  hurriedly  off 
tbe  Downing  porch  and  fled  as  one  girl 
Mabel,  to  be  sure,  measured  her  length  in 
the  canna  bed  near  the  gate,  but  she  scram- 
bled up,  snorting  with  fright  and  indigna- 
tion, and  none  of  them  paused  again  in  their 
flight  until  Jean's  door,  which  seemed  safest, 
had  closed  behind  them. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

TOe  iResponsfe  to  ilbabeV&^  Celejjtam 

THE  night  of  their  flitting  from  Dande- 
lion Cottage  the  girls  had  hastily 
eaten  all  the  radishes  in  the  cottage  garden 
to  prevent  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
grasping  Milligans.  Now,  the  morning 
after  their  visit  to  Mr.  Downing,  they  were 
wishing  that  they  hadn't;  not  because  the 
radishes  had  disagreed  with  them,  but  for 
quite  a  different  reason.  They  could  not 
enter  the  cottage,  of  course,  but  it  had  oc- 
curred to  them  that  it  might  be  possible  to 
derive  a  certain  melancholy  satisfaction 
from  tending  and  replenishing  the  little  gar- 
den. That  pleasure,  at  least,  had  not  been 
forbidden  them ;  but  before  beginning  active 
operations,  they  took  the  precaution  of  en- 
larging the  hole  in  the  back  fence,  so  that 
260 


A  Pleasing  Response        261 

instantaneous  flight  would  be  possible  in 
case  Mr.  Downing  should  stroll  cottage- 
ward. 

Their  motive  was  good.  When  Mr. 
Black  returned,  if  he  ever  should,  Bettie 
meant  that  he  should  find  the  little  yard  in 
perfect  order 

"We'll  keep  to  our  part  of  the  bargain, 
anyway,"  said  Bettie,  as  the  four  girls  were 
making  their  first  cautious  tour  of  inspection 
about  the  cottage  yard.  "  There's  lots  of 
work  to  be  done." 

"  Yes,"  agreed  Jean,  "  we  said  we'd  keep 
this  yard  nice  all  summer  and  it  wouldn't 
be  right  not  to  do  it." 

"  I  wonder  if  we  ought  to  ask  Mr.  Down- 
ing?" asked  conscientious  Bettie,  stooping 
to  pull  off  some  gone-to-seed  pansies. 

"  Perhaps  you'd  like  the  job !  "  suggested 
Marjory,  with  mild  sarcasm. 

"My  sakes!"  said  Mabel,  "I  wouldn't 
g-o  near  that  man  again  if  I  was  going  to 
swallow  an  automobile  the  next  moment  if 


262  Dandelion  Cottage 

I  didn't.  I  could  hear  him  roar '  NO  '  every 
few  minutes  all  night.  I  fell  out  of  bed 
twice,  dreaming  that  I  was  trying  to  get  off 
of  that  old  porch  of  his  before  he  could  grab 
me." 

**  Well,  I  guess  we'd  better  not  ask,"  said 
Jean,  "  because  I'm  pretty  sure  he'd  have  the 
same  answer  ready." 

"  He  certainly  ought  not  to  mind  having 
us  take  care  of  our  own  flowers,"  said  Mar- 
jory. 

"That's  true,"  said  Bettie,  poking  the 
moist  earth  with  a  friendly  finger. 
**  They're  growing  splendidly  since  the  rain. 
See  how  nice  and  full  of  growiness  the 
ground  is." 

"  I  can  get  more  pansy  plants,"  offered 
Marjory,  "  to  fill  up  these  holes  the  Milligan 
dog  made." 

"  Mrs.  Crane  promised  to  give  us  some 
aster  plants,"  said  Mabel.  "  Let's  put  'em 
along  by  the  fence." 

"Let's  do,"  said  Jean.  "You  go  see  if 
you  can  have  them  now." 


A  Pleasing  Response         263 

"  I  know  Mr.  Black  will  be  pleased,"  de- 
clared Bettie,  "  if  he  finds  this  place  looking 
nice.  I'm  so  thankful  we  didn't  remember 
to  ask  Mr.  Downing  about  it." 

"  We  didn't  have  a  chance,"  said  Jean, 
ruefully,  "  but  just  the  same,  I'm  willing  to 
keep  on  forgetting  until  Mr.  Black  comes." 

It  began  to  look,  however,  as  if  Mr.  Black 
were  never  coming.  Bettie  had  written  as 
she  had  promised  but  had  had  no  reply,  al- 
though the  letter  had  not  been  mailed  for  ten 
minutes  before  she  began  to  watch  for  the 
postman.  Even  Mabel,  having  had  no  re- 
sponse to  her  telegram  and  supposing  it  to 
have  gone  astray,  had  given  up  hope. 

Mabel,  ever  averse  to  confessing  the  fail- 
ure of  any  of  her  enterprises,  had  decided  to 
postpone  saying  anything  about  the  telegram 
until  one  or  another  of  the  girls  should  re- 
member to  ask  what  had  become  of  the 
thirty-five  cents.  So  far,  none  of  them  had 
thought  of  it. 

Still,  it  seemed  probable,  in  spite  of  Mr. 


264  Dandelion   Cottage 

Black's  continued  absence,  that  he  would  get 
home  sometime,  for  he  had  left  so  much  be- 
hind him.  There  was  a  huge  building,  in 
the  business  portion  of  the  town,  whose  sign 
read:  "PETER  BLACK  AND  COM- 
PANY." Then,  in  the  prettiest  part  of  the 
residence  district,  where  the  lawns  were  big 
and  the  shrubs  were  planted  scientifically  by 
a  landscape  gardener  and  where  the  hillside 
bristled  with  roses,  there  was  a  large,  hand- 
some stone  house  that,  as  everybody  knew, 
belonged  to  Mr.  Black.  Although  there 
were  industrious  clerks  at  work  in  the  one, 
and  a  middle-aged  housekeeper,  with  a  fur- 
nace-tending, grass-cutting  husband  equally 
busy  in  the  other,  it  was  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  Mr.  Black,  even  if  he  had  no  fam- 
ily, would  have  to  return  sometime,  if  only 
to  enjoy  his  beloved  rose-bushes. 

Thanks  to  Mabel's  telegram  (Bettie's  let- 
ter, forwarded  from  Washington,  did  not 
reach  him  for  many  days)  he  did  come.  He 
had  had  to  stop  in  Chicago,  after  all,  and 


A  Pleasing  Response         265 

there  had  been  unexpected  delays,  but  just 
a  week  from  the  day  the  Milligans  had  left 
the  cottage,  Mn  Black  returned. 

Without  even  stopping  to  look  in  at  his 
own  office,  the  traveller  went  straight  to  the 
rectory  to  ask  for  Bettie.  Bettie,  Mrs. 
Tucker  told  him,  he  would  probably  find  in 
the  cottage  yard. 

Mr.  Black  took  a  short  cut  through  the 
hole  in  the  back  fence,  arriving  on  the  cot- 
tage lawn  just  in  time  to  meet  a  procession 
of  girls  entering  the  front  gate.  Each  girl 
was  carrying  a  huge,  heavy  clod  of  earth,  out 
of  the  top  of  which  grew  a  sturdy  green 
plant;  for  the  cottageless  cottagers  had  dis- 
covered the  only  successful  way  of  perform- 
ing the  difficult  feat  of  re-stocking  their 
garden  with  half-grown  vegetables.  Their 
neighbours  had  proved  generous  when  Bet- 
tie had  explained  that  if  one  could  only  dig 
deep  enough  one  could  transplant  anything, 
from  a  cabbage  to  pole-beans.  Some  of  the 
grown-up  gardeners,  to  be  sure,  had  been 


266  Dandelion  Cottage 

skeptical,  but  they  were  all  willing  that  the 
girls  should  make  the  attempt. 

"  Oh  Mr.  Black !  "  shrieked  the  four  girls, 
dropping  their  burdens  to  make  a  simul- 
taneous rush  for  the  senior  warden.  "  Oh ! 
oh!  oh!     Is  it  really  you?    We're  so  glad 

—  so  awfully  glad  youVe  come !  " 
"Well,  I  declare!     So  am  I,''  said  Mr. 

Black,  with  his  arms  full  of  girls.  "  It  seems 
like  getting  home  again  to  have  a  family  of 
nice  girls  waiting  with  a  welcome,  even  if 
ifs  a  pretty  sandy  one.  What  are  you  doing 
with  all  the  real  estate?  I  thought  you*d 
all  been  turned  out,  but  you  seem  to  be  all 
here.  I  declare!  If  you  haven't  all  been 
growing ! " 

"  We  were  —  we  are  —  we  have,"  cried 
the  girls,  dancing  up  and  down  delightedly. 
"  Mr.  Downing  made  us  give  up  the  cottage, 
but  he  didn't  say  anything  about  the  garden 

—  and  —  and  —  we  thought  we'd  better 
forget  to  ask  about  it." 

"  Tell  me  the   whole  story,"   said  Mn 


A  Pleasing  Response        267 

Black.  "  Let's  sit  here  on  the  doorstep  — 
I'm  sure  I  could  listen  more  comfortably  if 
there  were  not  so  many  excited  girls  dancing 
on  my  best  toes." 

So  Mr.  Black,  with  a  girl  at  each  side,  and 
two  at  his  feet,  heard  the  story  from  begin- 
ning to  end,  and  he  seemed  to  find  it  much 
more  amusing  than  the  girls  had  at  any  time 
considered  it.  He  simply  roared  with 
laughter  when  Bettie  apologised  about  Bob 
and  the  tin. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  when  the  recital  was 
ended,  and  he  had  shown  the  girls  Mabel's 
telegram,  and  thoroughly  delighted  Mabel 
had  been  praised  and  enthusiastically  hugged 
by  the  other  three,  "  I  have  heard  of  cot- 
tages with  more  than  one  key.  Suppose 
you  see,  Bettie,  if  anything  on  this  ring  will 
fit  that  keyhole." 

Three  of  the  flat,  slender  keys  did  not, 
but  the  fourth  turned  easily  in  the  lock. 
Bettie  opened  the  door. 

"  Possession,"   said   Mr.    Black,   with   a 


268  Dandelion  Cottage 

twinkle  in  his  eye,  "  is  nine  points  of  the 
law.  You'd  better  go  to  work  at  once  and 
move  in  and  get  to  cooking;  you  see  there's 
a  vacancy  under  my  vest  that  nothing  but 
that  promised  dinner  party  can  fill.  The 
sooner  you  get  settled,  the  sooner  I  get  that 
good  square  meal.  Besides,  if  you  don't 
work,  you  won't  have  an  appetite  for  a  great 
big  box  of  candy  that  I  have  in  my  trunk." 

"  Oh,"  sighed  Bettie,  rubbing  her  cheek 
against  Mr.  Black's  sleeve,  "  it  seems  too 
good  to  be  true." 

"What,  the  candy?"  teased  Mr.  Black. 

"  No,  the  cottage,"  explained  Bettie,  earn- 
estly. "  Oh,  I  do  hope  winter  will  be  about 
six  months  late  this  year  to  make  up  for 
this." 

"  Perhaps  it'll  forget  to  come  at  all," 
breathed  Mabel,  hopefully.  "  I'd  almost  be 
willing  to  skip  Christmas  if  there  was  any 
way  of  stretching  this  summer  out  to  Feb- 
ruary, Somebody  please  pinch  me  —  I'm 
afraid  I'm  dreaming  —  Oh !  ouch !  I  didn't 
say  ever-vhodv*^' 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

^r.  J5)owning'0  Hpologig 

BY  this  time,  of  course,  all  the  young 
housekeepers'  relatives  were  deeply 
interested  in  the  cottage.  After  living  for  a 
never-to-be-forgotten  week  with  the  four  un- 
happiest  little  girls  in  town,  all  were  eager 
to  reinstate  them  in  the  restored  treasure. 
The  girls,  having  rushed  home  with  the  joy- 
ful news,  were  almost  overwhelmed  with  un- 
expected offers  of  parental  assistance.  The 
grown-ups  were  not  only  willing  but  anxious 
to  help.  Then,  too,  the  Mapes  boys  and  the 
young  Tuckers  almost  came  to  blows  over 
who  should  have  the  honour  of  mending  the 
roof  with  the  bundles  of  shingles  that  Dr. 
Bennett  insisted  on  furnishing.  Marjory's 
Aunty  Jane  said  that  if  somebody  that  could 

drive   nails    without    smashing   his   thumb 
269 


270  Dandelion  Cottage 

would  mend  the  holes  in  the  parlour  floor  she 
would  give  the  girls  a  pretty  ingrain  carpet, 
one  side  of  which  looked  almost  new.  Dr. 
Bennett  himself  laid  a  clean  new  floor  in  the 
little  kitchen  over  the  rough  old  one,  and 
Mrs.  Mapes  mended  the  broken  plaster  in  all 
the  rooms  by  pasting  unbleached  muslin  over 
the  holes.  Mr.  Tucker  replaced  all  broken 
panes  of  glass,  while  his  busy  wife  found 
time  to  tack  mosquito-netting  over  the 
kitchen  and  pantry  windows. 

So  interested,  indeed,  were  all  the  grown- 
ups and  all  the  brothers,  that  the  girls 
chuckled  delightedly.  It  wouldn't  have  sur- 
prised them  so  very  much  if  all  their  people 
had  fallen  suddenly  to  playing  with  dolls 
and  to  having  tea-parties  in  the  cottage ;  but 
the  place  was  still  far  too  disorderly  for 
either  of  these  juvenile  occupations  to  prove 
attractive  to  anybody. 

In  the  midst  of  the  confusion,  Mr.  Down- 
ing stopped  at  the  cottage  door  one  noon, 
and  asked  for  the  girls,  who  eyed  him  doubt- 


Mr,  Downing's  Apology      271 

fully  and  resentfully  as  they  met  him,  after 
Marjory  had  hesitatingly  ushered  him  into 
the  untidy  little  parlour. 

Mr.  Downing  smiled  at  them  in  a  friend- 
ly, but  decidedly  embarrassed  manner.  He 
had  not  forgotten  his  own  lack  of  cordiality 
when  the  girls  had  called  on  him,  and  he 
wanted  to  atone  for  it.  Mr.  Black  had  tact- 
fully but  effectively  pointed  out  to  Mr. 
Downing,  already  deeply  disgusted  with  the 
Milligans,  the  error  of  his  ways,  and  Mr. 
Downing,  as  generous  as  he  was  hasty  and 
irascible,  was  honest  enough  to  admit  that 
he  had  been  mistaken  in  not  only  his  estimate 
of  Mr.  Black,  but  in  his  treatment  of 
the  little  cottagers.  Now,  eager  to  make 
amends,  he  looked  somewhat  anxiously  from 
one  to  another  of  his  silent  hostesses,  who 
in  return  looked  questioningly  at  Mr.  Down- 
ing. Surely,  with  Mr.  Black  in  town,  Mr. 
Downing  couldn't  be  thinking  of  turning 
them  out  a  second  time ;  still,  he  had  disap- 
pointed  them   before,    probably  he   would 


2/2  Dandelion   Cottage 

again,  and  the  girls  meant  to  take  no 
chances,  so  they  kept  still,  with  searching 
eyes  glued  upon  Mr.  Downing's  counte- 
nance. All  at  once,  they  realised  that  they 
were  looking  into  friendly  eyes,  and  three 
of  them  jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
junior  warden  was  not  the  heartless  mon- 
ster they  had  considered  him. 

"  I  came,"  said  Mr.  Downing,  noticing 
the  change  of  expression  in  Bettie's  face, 
"to  offer  you,  with  my  apologies,  this  key 
and  this  little  document.  The  paper,  as  you 
will  see,  is  signed  by  all  the  vestrymen  — 
my  own  name  is  written  very  large  —  and 
it  gives  you  the  right  to  the  use  of  this  cot- 
tage until  such  time  as  the  church  feels  rich 
enough  to  tear  it  down  and  build  a  new  one. 
There  is  no  immediate  cause  for  alarm  on 
this  score,  for  there  were  only  sixty-two 
cents  in  the  plate  last  Sunday.  I  have  come 
to  the  conclusion,  young  ladies,  that  I  was 
over-hasty  in  my  judgment.  I  didn't  un- 
derstand the  matter,  and  Fm  afraid  I  acted 


Mr.  Downing's  Apology      273 

without  due  consideration  —  I  often  do. 
But  I  hope  you'll  forgive  me  for  I  sincerely 
beg  all  your  pardons." 

"  If  s  all  right,"  said  Bettie,  "  as  long  as 
it  was  just  a  mistake.  It's  easy  to  forgive 
mistakes." 

"  Yes,"  said  Marjory,  sagely,  "  we  all 
make  'em." 

"  It's  all  right,  anyway,"  added  Jean. 

Mr.  Downing  looked  expectantly  at  Ma- 
bel, who  for  once  had  preserved  a  dead 
silence. 

"  Well  ?  "  he  asked,  interrogatively. 

"  I  don't  suppose  I  can  ever  really  quite 
forgive  you,"  confessed  Mabel,  with  evident 
reluctance.  "  It'll  be  awfully  hard  work, 
but  I  guess  I  can  try." 

"  Perhaps  my  peace-offering  will  help 
your  efforts  a  little,"  said  Mr.  Downing, 
smiling.  "  It  seems  to  be  coming  in  now  at 
your  gate." 

The  girls  turned  hastily  to  look,  but  all 
they  could  see  was  a  very  untidy  man  with 
a  largfe  book  under,  his  arm. 


274  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  These/*  said  Mr.  Downing,  taking  the 
book  from  the  man,  who  had  walked  in  at 
the  open  door,  "  are  samples  of  inexpensive 
wall  papers.  You're  to  choose  as  much  as 
you  need  of  the  kinds  you  like  best  and  this 
man  will  put  it  wherever  it  will  do  the  most 
good,  and  I'll  pay  the  bill.  Now,  Miss  Blue 
Eyes,  do  I  stand  a  better  chance  of  forgive- 
ness?'' 

"  Yes,  yes!  "  cried  Mabel.  "  I'm  almost 
glad  you  needed  to  apologise.  You  did  it 
beautifully,  too.  Mercy!  when  /  apologise 
—  and  I  have  to  do  a  fearful  lot  of  apologis- 
ing —  I  don't  begin  to  do  it  so  nicely." 

"  Perhaps,"  offered  Mr.  Downing,  "  when 
you've  had  as  much  practice  as  I  have,  it 
will  come  easier.  I  see,  however,  that  you 
are  far  more  suitable  tenants  than  the  Milli- 
gans  would  have  been,  for  my  humble  apolo- 
gies to  them  met  with  a  very  different  recep- 
tion. I  assure  you,  if  there's  ever  any  rival- 
ry between  you  again,  that  my  vote  goes 
with  you  —  you're  so  easily  satisfied.     Now 


Mr.  Downing's  Apology      275 

don't  hesitate  to  choose  whatever  you  want 
from  this  book.  This  paper-hanger  is 
yours,  too,  until  you're  done  with  him." 

"  Oh,  thank  you,  thank  you,  thank  you," 
cried  the  girls,  with  happy  voices,  as  Mr. 
Downing  turned  to  go,  "  you  couldn't  have 
thought  of  a  nicer  peace-offering.'' 

Of  course  it  took  a  long,  long  time  for  so 
many  young  housekeepers  to  choose  papers 
for  the  parlour  and  the  two  bedrooms,  but 
after  much  discussion,  and  many  differences 
of  opinion,  it  was  finally  selected.  The  girls 
decided  on  green  for  the  parlour,  blue  for 
one  bedroom  and  pink  for  the  other,  and 
they  were  easily  persuaded  to  choose  small 
patterns. 

Then  the  smiling  paper-hanger  worked 
with  astonishing  rapidity  and  said  that  he 
didn't  object  in  the  least  to  having  four  pairs 
of  bright  eyes  watch  from  the  doorway 
every  strip  go  into  place.  It  seemed  to  be 
no  trouble  at  all  t  paper  the  little  low~ceil- 
inged  cottage,  and  oh !  how  beautiful  it  was 


2/6  Dandelion  Cottage 

when  it  was  all  done.  The  cool,  cucumbery 
green  parlour  was  just  the  right  shade  to 
melt  into  the  soft  blue  and  white  of  the  front 
bedroom.  As  for  the  dainty  pink  room,  as 
Bettie  said,  rapturously,  it  fairly  made  one 
smell  roses  to  look  at  it,  it  was  so  sweet. 

It  was  finished  by  the  following  night,  for 
no  paper-hanger  could  have  had  the  heart 
to  linger  over  his  work  with  so  many  anx- 
ious eyes  following  every  movement.  Mrs. 
Tucker  washed  and  ironed  and  mended  the 
white  muslin  curtains  and,  with  such  a 
bower  to  move  into,  the  second  moving-in 
and  settling,  the  girls  decided,  was  really 
better  than  the  first.  When  their  belong- 
ings were  finally  re-installed  in  the  cottage 
even  Mabel  no  longer  felt  resentful  toward 
the  Milligans. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

Cbe  ©DD  ^Bcbaviouc  ®t  Zbc  (5rown*up3 

EVEN  with  all  its  ingenious  but  inex- 
pensive improvements,  the  renovatea 
cottage  would  probably  have  failed  to  satisfy 
a  genuine  rent-paying  family,  but  to  the  con- 
tented girls,  it  seemed  absolutely  perfect. 

It  looked,  at  last,  to  everybody  as  if  the 
long  deferred  dinner  party  were  actually  to 
take  place.  There,  in  readiness,  were  the 
girls,  the  money,  the  cottage  and  Mr.  Black, 
and  nothing  had  happened  to  Mrs.  Barthol- 
omew Crane,  who  might  easily,  as  Mabel 
suggested  harrowingly,  have  moved  away  or 
died  at  any  moment  during  the  summer. 

One  day,  very  soon  after  the  cottage  was 
settled,  not-at-all-surprised  Mr.  Black  and 
very-much-astonished  Mrs.  Crane  each  re- 
ceived a  formal  invitation  to  dine  under  its 
277 


2/8  Dandelion  Cottage 


re-shingled  roof.  Composed  by  all  four,  the 
note  was  written  by  Jean,  whose  writing  and 
spelling  all  conceded  to  be  better  than  the 
combined  efforts  of  the  other  three.  Bettie 
delivered  the  notes  with  hei  own  hand,  two 
days  before  the  event,  and  on  the  morning 
of  the  party  she  went  a  second  time  to  each 
house  to  make  certain  that  neither  of  the  ex- 
pected guests  had  forgotten  the  date. 

"  Forget ! "  exclaimed  Mr.  Black,  stand- 
ing framed  in  his  own  doorway.  "  My  dear 
little  girl,  how  could  I  forget,  when  Fve  been 
saving  room  for  that  dinner  ever  since  early 
last  spring?  Nothing,  I  assure  you,  could 
keep  me  away  or  even  delay  me.  I  have 
eaten  a  very  light  breakfast,  I  shall  go  en- 
tirely without  luncheon " 

"  I  wouldn't  do  that,"  warned  Bettie. 
"  You  see  it's  our  first  dinner  party  and 
something  might  go  wrong.  The  soup 
might  scorch " 

"  It  wouldn't  have,  the  heart  to,'*  said  Mr. 
Black.     "  No  soup  could  be  so  unkind." 


The  Grown-ups  Behave  Oddly  279 

Of  course  the  cottage  was  the  busiest  place 
imaginable  for  the  days  immediately  preced- 
ing the  dinner  party.  The  girls  had  made 
elaborate  plans  and  their  pockets  fairly 
bulged  with  lists  of  things  that  they  were  to 
be  sure  to  remember  and  not  on  any  account 
to  forget.  Then  the  time  came  for  them 
to  begin  to  do  all  the  things  that  they  had 
planned  to  do,  and  the  cottage  hummed  like 
a  hive  of  bees. 

First  the  precious  seven  dollars  and  a  half, 
swelled  by  some  mysterious  process  to  seven 
dollars  and  fifty-seven  cents,  had  to  be  with- 
drawn from  the  bank,  the  most  imposing 
building  in  town  with  its  almost  oppressive 
air  of  formal  dignity.  The  rather  diffident 
girls  went  in  a  body  to  get  the  money  and 
looked  with  astonishment  at  the  extra  pen- 
nies. 

"  That's  the  interest,"  explained  the  cash- 
ier, noting,  with  quiet  amusement,  the  puz- 
zled faces. 

"Oh!"  said  Jean,  "  weVe  had  that  in 


zSo         Dandelion  Cottage 

school  but  this  is  the  first  time  we've  ever 
seen  any." 

"  We  didn't  suppose,"  supplemented  Bet- 
tie,  "that  interest  was  real  money.  / 
thought  it  was  something  like  those  x-plus-y 
things  that  the  boys  have  in  algebra." 

"  Or  like  mermaids  and  goddesses/'  said 
Mabel. 

"  She  means  myths,"  interpreted  Mar- 
jory- 

"  I  see,"  said  the  cashier.     "  Perhaps  you 

like  real,  tangible  interest  better  than  the 
kind  you  have  in  school." 

"  Oh,  we  do,  we  do !  "  cried  the  four  girls. 

"  After  this,"  confided  Bettie,  "  it  will  be 
easier  to  study  about." 

Then,  with  the  money  carefully  divided 
into  three  portions,  placed  in  three  separate 
purses,  which  in  turn  were  deposited  one 
each  in  Jean's,  Marjory's,  and  Bettie's  pock- 
ets, Mabel  having  flatly  declined  to  burden 
herself  with  any  such  weighty  responsibility, 
the  four  went  to  purchase  their  groceries, 


The  Grown-ups  Behave  Oddly  281 

The  smiling  clerks  at  the  various  shops 
confused  them  a  little  at  first  by  offering 
them  new  brands  of  breakfast  foods  with 
strange,  oddly  spelled  names,  but  the  girls 
explained  patiently  at  each  place  that  they 
were  giving  a  dinner  party,  not  a  breakfast, 
and  that  they  wanted  nothing  but  the  things 
on  their  list.  It  took  time,  and  a  great  deal 
of  discussion  to  make  so  many  important 
purchases,  but  finally  the  groceries  were  all 
ordered. 

Next  the  little  housekeepers  went  to  the 
butcher's  to  ask  for  a  chicken. 

"  Vat  kind  of  schicken  you  vant  ?  '*  asked 
the  stout,  impatient  German  butcher. 

Jean  looked  at  Bettie,  Bettie  looked  at 
Marjory,  and  Marjory,  although  she  knew 
it  was  hopeless,  looked  at  Mabel. 

"  Veil  ?  "  said  the  busy  butcher,  interroga- 
tively. 

"  One  to  cook  —  without  feathers," 
gasped   Jean. 

"A  spring  schicken?" 


282  Dandelion  Cottage 

**  Is  that  —  is  that  better  than  a  summer 
one?"  faltered  Bettie,  cautiously.  "You 
see  it's  summer  now." 

"  Perhaps/*  suggested  Mabel,  seized  with 
a  bright  thought,  "  an  August  one ^" 

"  Here,  Schon !  "  shouted  the  busy  butch- 
er to  his  assistant,  "  you  pring  oudt  three- 
four  schicken.  You  can  pick  von  oudt  vile 
I  vaits  on  dese  odder  gostomer." 

"  I  think,"  said  Jean,  indicating  one  o£ 
the  fowls  John  had  produced  for  her  inspec- 
tion, "  that  that's  about  the  right  size.  It's 
so  small  and  smooth  that  it  ought  to  be  ten- 
der." 

"I  wouldn't  take  that  one.  Miss,"  cau- 
tioned honest  John,  under  his  breath,  "  it 
looks  to  me  like  a  little  old  bantam  rooster. 
Leave  it  to  me  and  I'll  find  you  a  good  one." 

To  his  credit,  John  was  as  good  as  his 
word. 

The  little  housekeepers  felt  very  impor- 
tant indeed,  when,  later  in  the  day,  a  pro- 
cession of  genuine  grocery  wagons,  drawn 


The  Grown-ups  Behave  Oddly  283 

by  flesh-and-blood  horses  drew  up  before  the 
cottage  door  to  deliver  all  kinds  of  really 
truly  parcels.  They  had  not  quite  escaped 
the  breakfast  foods  after  all,  because  each 
consignment  of  groceries  was  enriched  by 
Several  sample  packages ;  enough  altogether, 
the  girls  declared  joyously,  to  provide  a 
great  many  noon  luncheons. 

Of  course  all  the  parcels  had  to  be  un- 
wrapped, admired,  and  sorted  before  being 
carefully  arranged  in  the  pantry  cupboard, 
which  had  never  before  found  itself  so  boun- 
tifully supplied.  Then,  for  a  busy  half  day, 
cook  books  and  real  cooks  were  anxiously 
consulted,  for  as  Mabel  said,  it  was  really 
surprising  to  see  how  many  different  ways 
there  were  to  cook  even  the  simplest  things. 

Jean  and  Bettie  were  to  do  the  actual 
cooking.  The  other  two,  in  elaborately 
starched  caps  and  aprons  of  spotless  white 
(provided  Mabel,  but  this  seemed  doubtful, 
could  keep  hers  white)  were  to  take  turns 
serving  the  courses.     The  first  course  was 


284  Dandelion  Cottage 

to  be  tomato  soup ;  it  came  in  a  can  with  di- 
rections outside  and  cost  fifteen  cents,  which 
Mabel  considered  cheap  because  of  the  print- 
ed cooking  lesson. 

"If  they'd  send  printed  directions  witl> 
their  raw  chickens  and  vegetables,"  said  she^ 
"  maybe  folks  might  be  able  to  tell  which 
recipe  belonged  to  which  thing." 

"  Well,"  laughed  Marjory,  "  some  cooks 
don't  have  to  read  a  whole  page  before  they 
discover  that  directions  for  making  plum 
pudding  don't  help  them  to  make  corned- 
beef  hash  —  you  always  forget  to  look  at 
the  top  of  the  page." 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Jean,  "  she  found  a 
good  recipe  for  salad  dressing." 

"  That's  true,"  said  Marjory,  "  but  before 
you  use  it  you'd  better  make  sure  that  it 
isn't  a  polish  for  hard-wood  floors  —  there, 
don't  throw  the  book  at  me,  Mabel,  I  won't 
say  another  word." 

The  three  mothers  and  Aunty  Jane,  grown 
suddenly  astonishingly  obliging,   not  only 


The  Grown-ups  Behave  Oddly  285 

consented  to  loan  whatever  the  girls  asked 
for,  but  actually  thrust  their  belongings  upon 
them  to  an  extent  that  was  almost  over- 
whelming. The  same  impulse  seemed  to 
have  seized  them  all.  It  puzzled  the  girls, 
yet  it  pleased  them  too,  for  it  was  such  a 
decided  novelty  to  have  six  parents  (even 
the  fathers  appeared  interested)  and  one 
aunt  positively  vying  with  one  another  to  aid 
the  young  cottagers  with  their  latest  plan. 
The  girls  could  remember  a  time,  not  so 
very  far  distant,  when  it  was  almost  hope- 
less to  ask  for  even  such  common  things 
as  potatoes,  not  to  mention  eggs  and  butter. 
Now,  however,  everything  was  changed. 
Aunty  Jane  would  provide  soup  spoons, 
napkins  and  a  tablecloth,  yes,  her  very  best 
short  one.  Marjory  could  hardly  believe 
her  ears,  but  hastily  accepted  the  cloth  lest 
the  offer  should  be  withdrawn.  The  girls, 
having  set  their  hearts  on  using  "  The-Frog- 
That-Would-A'Wooing-Go  "  plates  for  the 
escalloped    salmon    (to    their   tmods   there 


286  Dandelion  Cottage 

seemed  to  be  some  vague  connection  between 
frogs  and  fishes)  were  compelled  to  decline 
offers  of  all  the  fish  plates  belonging  to  the 
four  families.  The  potato  salad,  garnished 
with  lettuce  from  the  cottage  garden  was  to 
be  eaten  with  Mrs.  Bennett's  best  salad 
forks.  The  roasted  chicken  was  not  to  be 
entrusted  to  the  not-always-reliable  cottage 
oven  but  was  to  be  cooked  at  the  Tucker's 
house  and  carved  with  Mr.  Mapes's  best 
game  set.  Mrs.  Bennett's  cook  would  make 
a  pie,  yes,  even  a  difficult  lemon  pie  with  a 
meringue  on  top,  promised  Mrs.  Bennett. 

Then  there  were  to  be  butter  beans  out 
of  the  cottage  garden,  and  sliced  cucumbers 
from  the  green-grocer's  because  Mrs.  Crane 
had  confessed  to  a  fondness  for  cucumbers. 
There  was  one  beet  in  the  garden  almost 
large  enough  to  be  eaten;  that,  too,  was  to 
be  sacrificed.  The  dessert  had  been  some- 
thing of  a  problem.  It  had  proved  so  hard 
to  decide  this  matter  that  they  concluded  to 
compromise  by  adding:  both  pudding  and  ice 


The  Grown-ups  Behave  Oddly  287 

cream  to  the  Bennett  pie.  A  brick  of 
ice  cream  and  some  little  cakes  could  easily 
be  purchased  ready-made  from  the  town 
caterer,  with  the  change  they  had  left. 
Thoughts  of  their  money's  giving  out  no 
longer  troubled  them,  for  had  not  Mabel's 
surprising  father  told  them  that  if  they  ran 
short  they  need  not  hesitate  to  ask  him  for 
any  amount  within  reason? 

"I  declare,"  said  bewildered  Mabel,  "I 
can't  see  what  has  come  over  papa  and  mam- 
ma. Do  I  look  pale  or  anything  —  as  if  I 
might  be  going  to  die  before  very  long  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Marjory,  "  you  certainly 
don't;  but  I've  wondered  if  Auntie  Jane 
could  be  worried  about  me.  I  never  knew 
her  to  be  so  generous  —  Why!  it's  getting 
to  be  kind  of  a  nuisance.  Do  you  s'pose 
they're  going  to  insist  on  doing  every- 
thing f  " 

"Well,"  said  Bettie,  "they've  certainly 
helped  us  a  lot.  I  don't  know  why  they've 
done  it,  but  I'm  glad  they  have.    You  see 


288  Dandelion  Cottage 

we  must  have  everything  perfectly  beautiful 
because  Mr.  Black  is  rich  and  is  accustomed 
to  good  dinners,  and  Mrs.  Crane  is  poor  and 
never  has  any  very  nice  ones.  If  our  people 
keep  all  their  promises,  it  can't  help  being  a 
splendid  dinner." 

The  three  mothers  and  Aunty  Jane  and 
all  the  fathers  did  keep  their  promises. 
They,  too,  wanted  the  dinner  to  be  a  success, 
for  they  knew,  as  all  the  older  residents  of 
the  little  town  knew,  and  as  the  children 
themselves  might  have  known  if  the  story 
had  not  been  so  old  and  their  parents  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  gossiping  (which  for- 
tunately they  were  not)  that  there  was  a 
reason  why  Mr.  Black  and  Mrs.  Crane  wera 
the  last  two  persons  to  be  invited  to  a  tete-a* 
tete  dinner  party.  Yet,  strangely  enough, 
there  was  an  equally  good  reason  why  no 
one  wanted  to  interfere  and  why  every c«i€ 
wanted  to  help. 


CHAPTER  XXVm 

3u0t  :Bctoxc  2)inner 

THE  girls,  a  little  uneasy  lest  theif 
alarmingly  interested  parents  should 
insist  on  crooking  and  serving  the  entire  din- 
ner, were  both  relieved  and  perplexed  to  find 
that  the  grown-ups,  while  perfectly  willing 
to  help  with  the  dinner  provided  that  they 
could  work  in  their  own  kitchens,  flatly  de- 
clined the  most  urgent  invitations  to  enter 
the  cottage  the  afternoon  or  evening  of  the 
party. 

It  was  incomprehensible.  Until  noon  of 
the  very  day  of  the  feast  the  parents  and 
Aunty  Jane  had  paid  the  girls  an  almost  em- 
barrassing number  of  visits.  Now,  when 
the  girls  really  wanted  them  and  actually 
gave  each  of  them  a  very  special  invitation, 
each  one  unexpectedly  held  aloof.     For,  as 

the  hour  approached,  the  girls  momentarily 
280 


290  Dandelion  Cottage 

became  more  and  more  convinced  that  some^ 
thing  would  surely  go  wrong  in  the  cottage 
kitchen  with  no  experienced  person  to  keep 
things  moving.  They  decided,  at  four 
o'clock,  to  ask  Mrs.  Mapes  to  oversee  things. 

"  No  indeed,'*  said  Mrs.  Mapes.  "  You 
may  have  anything  there  is  in  my  house,  but 
you  can't  have  me.  You  don't  need  any- 
body; you  won't  have  a  mite  of  trouble." 

Finding  Mrs.  Mapes  unpersuadable,  they 
went  to  Mrs.  Tucker,  who  next  to  Jean's 
mother,  was  usually  the  most  obliging  of 
parents. 

"No,"  said  Mrs.  Tucker,  "I  couldn't 
think  of  it.  No,  no,  no,  not  for  one  mo- 
ment. It's  much  better  for  you  to  do  it  all 
by  yourselves. 

Still  hopeful,  the  girls  ran  to  Mrs.  Ben- 
nett. 

"  Mercy  no ! "  exclaimed  that  good  wom- 
an, with  discouraging  emphasis.  "  I'm  not 
a  bit  of  use  in  a  strange  kitchen  and  there 
are  reasons  —  Oh !     I  mean  it's  your  party 


Just  Before  Dinner  291 

and  it  won't  be  any  fun  if  somebody  else 
runs  it." 

"  Shall  we  ask  your  Aunty  Jane  ?  "  asked 
Bettie.  "  We  don't  seem  to  be  having  any 
luck." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Marjory.  "  She  loves  to 
manage  things." 

But  Marjory's  Aunty  Jane  proved  no 
more  willing  than  the  rest. 

"  No  ma'am! "  she  said,  emphatically. 
"  I  wouldn't  do  it  for  ten  dollars.  Why ! 
It  would  just  spoil  everything  to  have  a 
grown  person  around.  Don't  even  think  of 
such  a  thing." 

So  the  girls,  feeling  just  a  little  indignant 
at  their  disobliging  relatives,  decided  to  get 
along  as  well  as  they  could  without  them. 

At  last,  everything  was  either  cooked  or 
cooking.  The  table  was  beautifully  set  and 
decorated  and  flowers  bloomed  everywhere 
in  Dandelion  Cottage.  Jean  and  Bettie,  in 
the  freshest  of  gingham  aprons,  were  taking 
turns  watching  the  things  simmering  on  the 


292  Dandelion  Cottage 

stove.  Mabel  looking  fatter  than  ever  in 
her  short,  white,  stiffly  starched  apron,  was 
on  the  doorstep  craning  her  neck  to  see 
if  the  guests  showed  any  signs  of  coming, 
and  Marjory  was  busily  putting  a  few  en- 
tirely unnecessary  finishing  touches  to  the 
table. 

The  guests  were  invited  for  half  past  six, 
but  had  been  hospitably  urged  by  Bettie  to 
appear  sooner  if  they  wished.  At  exactly 
fifteen  minutes  after  six,  Mrs.  Crane,  in  her 
old-fashioned,  threadbare,  best  black  silk,  a 
very-much-mended  real  lace  collar  and  with 
her  iron-grey  hair  far  more  elaborately  ar- 
ranged than  she  usually  wore  it,  crossed  the 
street,  lifting  her  skirts  high  and  stepping 
gingerly  to  avoid  the  dust.  She  supposed 
that  she  was  to  be  the  only  guest,  for  the 
girls  had  not  mentioned  any  other. 

Mabel,  prodigiously  formal  and  most  un- 
usually solemn,  met  her  at  the  door,  ushered 
her  into  the  blue  room  and  invited  her  to 
remove  her  wraps.     The  light  shawl  that 


Just  Before  Dinner  293 

Mrs.  Crane  had  worn  over  her  head  was  the 
only  wrap  she  had,  but  it  was  not  as  easily 
removed  as  it  might  have  been.  It  caught 
on  one  of  her  hair  pins,  which  necessitated 
re-arranging  several  locks  of  hair  that  had 
slipped  from  place.  This  took  some  time 
and  while  she  was  thus  occupied,  Mr.  Black 
turned  the  corner,  went  swiftly  toward  the 
cottage,  mounted  the  steps  and  rang  the  door 
bell. 

Mabel  received  him  with  even  greater 
solemnity  than  she  had  Mrs.  Crane. 

"  I  think  I'd  better  take  your  hat  and 
coat,"  said  she.  "  We  haven't  any  hat  rack, 
but  they'll  be  perfectly  safe  on  the  pink-room 
bed  because  we  haven't  any  Tucker  babies 
taking  naps  on  it,  to-day." 

Mr.  Black  handed  his  things  to  her  with 
an  elaborate  politeness  that  equalled  her 
own. 

"  Marjory !  "  she  whispered  as  she  went 
with  the  guest's  belongings  through  the  din- 
ing room.     "  He's  wearing  his  dress  suitl  " 


294  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  Sh !  he'll  hear  you,"  warned  Marjory. 

"  Well,  anyway,  I'm  frightened  half  to 
death.  Oh  would  you  mind  passing  all  the 
wettest  things  ?  I  hadn't  thought  about  his 
clothes." 

"  Yes,  I  guess  I'd  better ;  he  might  want 
to  wear  'em  again." 

"  They're  both  here,"  announced  Mabel, 
i)pening  the  kitchen  door. 

"You  help  Bettie  stir  the  soup  and  the 
mashed  potatoes,"  said  Jean,  whisking  off 
her  apron  and  tying  it  about  Mabel's  neck. 
"  I'll  go  in  and  shake  hands  with  them  and 
then  come  back  and  dish  up." 

Jean  found  both  guests  looking  decidedly 
ill  at  ease.  Mr.  Black  stood  by  the  parlour 
table  absent-mindedly  undressing  a  family 
of  paper  dolls.  Mrs.  Crane,  pale  and  nerv- 
ously clutching  the  curtain,  seemed  unable 
to  move  from  the  bedroom  doorway. 

"Oh!"  said  Jean,  "I  do  believe  Mabel 
forgot  all  about  introducing  you.  We  told 
her  to  be  sure  to  remember,  but  she  hasn't 


Just  Before  Dinner  295 

been  able  to  take  her  mind  off  of  her  apron 
since  she  put  it  on.  Mrs.  Crane,  this  is  our 
—  our  preserver,  Mr.  Black." 

The  guests  bowed  stiffly. 

Jean  began  to  wish  that  she  could  think 
of  some  way  to  break  the  ice.  Both  were 
jolly  enough  on  ordinary  occasions,  but, 
seemingly,  both  had  suddenly  been  stricken 
dumb.  Perhaps  dinner  parties  always  af- 
fected grown  persons  that  way,  or  perhaps 
the  starch  from  Mabel's  apron  had  proved 
contagious.  Jean  smiled  at  the  thought 
Then  she  made  another  effort  to  promote 
sociability. 

"  Mrs.  Crane,"  explained  Jean,  turning 
to  Mr.  Black  who  was  nervously  tearing  tb^ 
legs  off  of  the  father  of  the  paper  doll  fam- 
ily, "  is  our  very  nicest  neighbour.  We  like 
her  just  ever  so  much  —  everybody  does. 
WeVe  often  told  you,  Mrs.  Crane,  how  fond 
we  are  of  Mr.  Black.  It  was  because  you 
are  our  two  very  dearest  friends  that  we  ii^ 
vited  vou  both  -- — ^' 


296         Dandelion  Cottage 

"  Je-e-e-e-an !  "  called  a  distressed  voice 
from  the  kitchen. 

"  Mercy !  "  exclaimed  Jean,  making  a  hur- 
ried exit,  "  I  hope  that  soup  isn't  scorched !  " 

"No,"  said  Bettie,  slightly  aggrieved, 
"but  I  wanted  a  chance,  too,  to  say  how- 
^o-you-do  to  those  people  before  I  get  all 
mixed  up  with  the  cooking.  I  thought  you 
were  never  coming  back." 

"  Well,  it's  your  turn  now,"  said  Jean. 
"  Give  me  that  spoon." 

Bettie  finding  both  guests  seated  in  oppo- 
site corners  of  the  room  and  apparently 
deeply  interested  in  the  cottage  literature  — 
Mr.  Black  buried  in  "  Dottie  Dimple  "  and 
Mrs.  Crane  absorbed  in  "  Mother  Goose  " — 
naturally  concluded  that  they  were  waiting 
to  be  introduced,  and  accordingly  made  the 
presentation. 

"  Mrs.  Crane,"  said  she,  "  I  want  you  to 
meet  Mr.  Black,  and  I  hope,"  added  warm- 
hearted Bettie,  "  that  you'll  like  each  other 
very  much  because  we're  so  fond  of  you 


Just  Before  Dinner  297 

both.  You're  each  a  surprise  party  for  the 
other  —  we  thought  you'd  both  Hke  it  better 
if  you  had  somebody  besides  children  to 
talk  to." 

"  Very  kind,  I'm  sure,"  mumbled  Mr. 
Black,  whose  company  manners,  it  seemed 
to  Bettie,  were  far  from  being  as  pleasant  as 
his  everyday  ones.  Bettie  gave  a  deep  sigh 
and  made  one  more  effort  to  set  the  conver- 
sational ball  rolling. 

"  I'm  afraid  I'll  have  to  go  back  to  the 
kitchen  now,  and  leave  you  to  entertain  each 
other.  Please  both  of  you  be  very  enter- 
taining —  you're  both  so  jolly  when  you  just 
run  in." 

Bettie's  eyes  were  wistful  as  she  went  to- 
ward the  kitchen.  Was  it  possible,  she 
wondered,  that  her  beloved  Mr.  Black  could 
despise  Mrs.  Crane  because  she  was  poor? 
It  didn't  seem  possible,  yet  there  was  cer- 
tainly something  wrong.  Perhaps  he  was 
merely  hungry.  That  was  it  of  course ;  she 
would  put  the  dinner  on  at  once  —  even 


298  Dandelion  Cottage 

good-natured  Dr.  Tucker,  she  remembered, 
was  sometimes  a  little  bearlike  when  meals 
were  delayed. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

H  :fi8ewilDer(ng  Silence  JExplaineO 

FIVE  minutes  later,  Marjory  escorted 
the  guests  to  the  dining-room,  and, 
finding  both  of  these  usually  talkative  per- 
sons alarmingly  silent,  she  inferred  of  course 
that  Mabel  had  forgotten  —  as,  indeed,  Ma- 
bel had  —  her  instructions  in  regard  to  in- 
troducing them.  Marjory's  manners  on 
formal  occasions  were  very  pretty ;  they  were 
pretty  now,  and  so  was  she,  as  she  hastened 
to  make  up  for  MabeFs  oversight. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Black,"  she  cried,  earnestly, 
*^*  I'm  afraid  no  one  remembered  to  introduce 
you.  It's  our  first  dinner  party,  you  know, 
and  we're  not  very  wise.  This  is  our  dear- 
est neighbour,  Mrs.  Crane,  Mr.  Black." 

The  guests  bowed  stiffly  for  the  third 

299 


300  Dandelion  Cottage 

time.  Practice  should  have  lent  grace  to  the 
salutation,  but  seemingly  it  had  not. 

"  Aren't  some  of  you  young  people  going 
to  sit  down  with  me  ?  "  demanded  Mr.  Black, 
noticing  suddenly  that  the  table  was  set  for 
only  two. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Crane  with  evident  dis- 
may, "  surely  you're  coming  to  the  table, 
too." 

"We  can't,"  explained  Marjory.  "It 
takes  all  of  us  to  do  the  serving.  Besides 
we  haven't  but  two  dining-room  chairs.  Sit 
here,  please,  Mrs.  Crane;  and  this  is  your 
place,  Mr.  Black." 

Mr.  Black  looked  red  and  uncomfortable 
as  he  unfolded  his  napkin.  Mrs.  Crane 
looked,  as  Marjory  said  afterward,  for  all 
the  world  as  if  she  were  going  to  cry.  Per- 
haps the  prospect  of  a  good  dinner  after  a 
long  siege  of  poor  ones  was  too  much  for 
her,  for  ordinarily,  Mrs.  Crane  was  a  very 
cheerful  woman. 

Although  both  guests  declared  that  the 


A  Silence  Explained        301 

soup  was  very  good  indeed,  neither  seemed 
to  really  enjoy  it. 

"  They  just  kind  of  worried  a  little  of  it 
down,"  said  distressed  Marjory,  when  she 
handed  Mr.  Black's  plate,  still  three  quarters 
full  to  Jean,  in  the  kitchen.  "  Do  you  sup- 
pose there's  anything  the  matter  with  it?'' 

"There  can't  be,"  said  Bettie.  "I've 
tasted  it  and  it's  good." 

"  They're  just  saving  room  for  the  other 
things,"  comforted  Mabel.  "  I  guess  / 
wouldn't  fill  myself  up  with  soup  if  I  could 
smell  roasted  chicken  keeping  warm  in  the 
oven." 

Although  Mabel  had  asked  to  be  spared 
passing  the  spillable  things,  it  seemed  rea- 
sonably safe  to  trust  her  with  the  dish  of 
escalloped  salmon.  She  succeeded  in  pass- 
ing it  without  disaster  to  either  the  dish  or 
the  guests'  garments,  and  her  apron  was  still 
immaculate. 

"  Why,"  exclaimed  Mabel,  suddenly  no- 
ticing that  the  guests  sat  stiff  and  silent, 


302  Dandelion   Cottage 

"  the  girls  said  I  was  to  be  sure  to  introduce 
you  the  moment  you  came  and  I  never 
thought  a  thing  about  it.  Do  forgive  me  — 
I'm  the  stupidest  girl.  Mrs.  Black  —  I 
mean  Mr.  Crane  —  no,  Mrs,  Crane ** 

"  We've  been  introduced/'  said  Mr.  Black, 
rather  shortly.  "  Might  I  have  a  glass  of 
water?" 

A  pained,  surprised  look  crept  into  Ma- 
bel's eyes.  A  moment  later  she  went  to  the 
kitchen. 

The  instant  the  guests  were  left  alone, 
Mrs.  Crane  did  an  odd  thing.  She  leaned 
forward  and  spoke  in  a  low,  earnest  tone  to 
Mr.  Black. 

"  Peter,"  she  said,  "  can't  we  pretend  to  be 
sociable  for  a  little  while?  It  isn't  com- 
fortable, of  course,  but  it  isn't  right  to  spoil 
those  children's  pleasure  by  acting  like  a  pair 
of  wooden  dolls.  Let's  talk  to  each  other 
whenever  they're  in  the  room  just  as  if  we 
had  just  met  for  the  first  time." 

"You're  right,  Sarah,"  said  Mr.  Black. 


A  Silence  Explained      303 

"  Let's  talk  about  the  weather.  It's  a  safe 
topic  and  there's  always  plenty  of  it." 

When  Marjory  opened  the  door  to  carry 
in  the  salad  there  was  a  pleasant  hum  of 
voices  in  the  dining  room.  It  seemed  to  all 
the  girls  that  the  guests  were  really  enjoy- 
ing themselves  for  Mr.  Black  was  telling 
Mrs.  Crane  how  much  warmer  it  was  in 
Washington,  and  Mrs.  Crane  was  inform- 
ing Mr.  Black  that,  except  for  the  one  show- 
er that  fell  so  opportunely  on  the  Milligans, 
it  had  been  a  remarkably  dry  summer.  The 
four  anxious  hostesses,  feeling  suddenly 
cheered,  fell  joyously  to  eating  the  soup  and 
the  salmon  that  remained  on  the  stove.  Un- 
til that  moment,  they  had  been  too  uneasy  to 
realise  that  they  were  hungry;  but  as  Mar- 
jory carried  in  the  crackers,  half- famished 
Mabel  breathed  a  fervent  hope  that  the 
guests  wouldn't  help  themselves  too  lavishly 
to  the  salad. 

To  the  astonishment  of  Mabel,  who  car- 
ried the  chicken  successfully  to  its  place  be- 


304  Dandelion  Cottage 

fore  Mr.  Black,  who  was  to  carve  it,  Mr. 
Black  did  not  ask  the  other  guest  what  part 
she  liked  best,  but,  with  a  whimsical  smile, 
quietly  cut  off  both  wings  and  put  them  on 
Mrs.  Crane's  plate. 

Mrs.  Crane  looked  up  with  an  odd, 
tremulous  expression  —  sort  of  weepy,  Ma- 
bel described  it  afterwards  —  and  said: 
"  Thank  you,  Peter." 

It  seemed  to  Mabel  at  the  time  that  the 
guests  were  getting  acquainted  with  a  rapid- 
ity that  was  little  short  of  remarkable-— 
"  Peter  "  indeed. 

Then,  when  everything  else  was  eaten, 
and  Marjory  had  brought  the  nuts  and 
served  them,  Mrs.  Crane,  hardly  waiting  for 
the  door  to  close  behind  the  little  waitress, 
leaned  forward  suddenly  and  said : 

"  Peter,  do  you  remember  how  you 
pounded  my  thumb  when  I  held  that  hard 
black  walnut  for  you  to  crack  ?  " 

"I  remember  ever5rthing,  Sarah.  I've 
always  been  sorry  about  that  thumb  —  and 


A  Silence  Explained       305 

IVe  been  sorry  about  a  good  many  other 
things  since.  Do  you  think  —  do  you  think 
you  could  forgive  me  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  just  guess  I  could,"  returned 
Mrs.  Crane,  heartily.  "  After  all,  it  was 
just  as  much  my  fault  as  it  was  yours  — 
maybe  more." 

"  No,  I  never  thought  that,  Sarah.  1 
was  the  one  to  blame." 

When  the  door  opened  a  moment  later 
to  admit  the  finger-bowls  and  all  four  of  the 
girls,  who  had  licked  the  ice  cream  platter 
and  had  nothing  more  to  do  in  the  kitchen 
since  everything  had  been  served,  there,  to 
the  housekeepers'  unbounded  amazement, 
were  Mr.  Black  and  Mrs.  Crane,  with  their 
arms  stretched  across  the  little  table,  hold- 
ing each  other's  middle-aged  hands  in  a 
tight  clasp,  and  both  had  tears  in  their  eyes. 

The  girls  looked  at  them  in  consternation. 

"W^as  —  was  it  the  dinner?"  ventured 
Mabel,  at  last.  "  Was  it  as  bad  as  —  as  all 
that?" 


306  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Black,  rising  to  go 
around  the  table  to  place  an  affectionate  arm 
across  Mrs.  Crane's  plump  shoulders,  "  it 
was  the  dinner,  but  not  its  badness  —  or 
even  its  very  goodness." 

"  I  guess  you'd  better  tell  'em  all  about 
it,  Peter,"  suggested  Mrs.  Crane,  whose  eyes 
were  shining  happily.  "  It's  only  fair  they 
should  know  about  it  —  bless  their  little 
hearts." 

"  Well,  you  see,"  said  Mr.  Black,  who,  as 
the  girls  had  quickly  discovered,  was  oncer 
more  their  own  delightfully  jolly  friend, 
"  once  upon  a  time,  a  long  time  ago,  there 
was  a  black-eyed  girl  named  Sarah,  and  a 
two-years-younger  boy,  that  looked  a  good 
deal  like  her,  named  Peter,  and  they  were 
brother  and  sister.  They  were  all  the  broth- 
ers and  sisters  that  each  had  for  their  pa- 
rents died  when  this  boy  and  girl  were  very 
young.  Peter  and  Sarah  used  to  dream  a 
beautiful  dream  of  living  together  always, 
and  of  going  down,  hand  in  hand  to  a  peace- 


A  Silence  Explained       307 


ful,  plentiful  old  age.  You  see,  they  had 
no  other  relative  but  one  very  cross  grand* 
mother,  v^ho  scolded  them  both  even  oftener 
than  they  deserved  —  which  was  probably 
quite  often  enough  —  so  I  suspect  that  those 
abused,  black-eyed,  half-starved  children 
loved  each  other  more  than  most  brothers 
and  sisters  do.'* 

"  Yes,"  agreed  Mrs.  Crane,  nodding  her 
head  and  smiling  mistily,  "  they  certainly 
did.  The  poor  young  things  had  no  one 
else  to  love.'' 

"  That,"  said  Mr.  Black,  "  was  no  doubt 
the  reason  why,  when  the  headstrong  boy 
grew  up  and  married  a  girl  that  his  sister 
didn't  like,  and  the  equally  headstrong  girl 
grew  up  and  married  a  man  that  her  brother 
couldn't    like  —  a    regular    scoundrel    that 

"  Peter ! "  warned  Mrs.  Crane. 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Black,  hastily,  "  it's  all 
over  now,  and  perhaps  we  had  better  leave 
that  part  of  it  out.     It  isn't  a  pretty  ?tr*r> 


3o8  Dandelion  Cottage 

and  we'll  never  mention  it  again,  Sarah, 
But  anyway,  girls,  this  foolish  brother  and 
sister  quarrelled,  and  the  brothers-in-law 
and  sisters-in-law  and  even  the  grandmoth- 
er, who  was  old  enough  to  know  better, 
quarrelled,  until  finally  all  four  of  those  hot- 
tempered  young  persons  were  so  angry  that 
the  brother  named  Peter  said  he'd  never 
speak  to  his  sister  again,  and  the  sister 
named  Sarah  said  she'd  never  speak  to  her 
brother  again  —  and  they  haven't  until  this 
very  day.  Just  a  pair  of  young  geese, 
weren't  they,  Sarah  ?  " 

"  Old  geese,  too,"  agreed  Mrs.  Crane, 
'*  for  they've  both  been  fearfully  lonely  ever 
since  and  they've  both  been  too  proud  to  say 
so.  One  of  them,  at  least,  has  wished  a 
great  many  times  that  there  had  never  been 
any  quarrel." 

"  Two  of  'em.  But  now  this  one,"  said 
Mr.  Black,  placing  his  forefinger  against  his 
own  broad  chest,  "  is  going  to  ask  this  one 
(he  pointed  to  Mrs.  Crane)  to  come  and  live 


A  Silence  Explained       309 

with  him  in  his  own  great  big  empty  house, 
so  he'll  have  a  sister  again  to  sew  on  his  but- 
tons, listen  to  his  old  stories  and  make  a 
home  for  him.     What  do  you  say,  Sarah  ?  " 

"  I  say  yes,"  said  Mrs.  Crane ;  "  yes,  with 
all  my  heart." 

"  And  here,"  said  Mr.  Black,  smiling  into 
four  pairs  of  sympathetic  eyes,  "  are  four 
young  people  who  will  have  to  pretend  that 
they  truly  belong  to  us  once  in  awhile,  be- 
cause we'd  both  like  to  have  our  house  full 
of  happy  little  girls.  You  never  had  any 
children,  Sarah  ?  " 

"  No,  and  you  lost  your  only  one,  Peter." 

"  Yes,  a  little  brown-eyed  thing  like  Bet- 
tie  here  —  she'd  be  a  woman,  now,  probably 
with  children  of  her  own." 

"It's  —  it's  just  like  a  story,"  breathed 
Bettie,  happily.  "  We've  been  part  of  a 
real  story  and  never  knew  it !  I'm  so  glad 
you  let  us  have  Dandelion  Cottage,  so  glad 
we  invited  you  to  dinner,  and  that  nothing 
happened  to  keep  either  of  you  away." 


jio  Dandelion  Cottage 

"  Peter  and  I  are  glad,  too,"  said  Mrs. 
Crane,  who  indeed  looked  wonderfully 
happy. 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Black,  "it's  the  most 
successful  dinner  party  I've  so  far  attended. 
Of  course  I  can't  hope  to  equal  it,  but  as 
soon  as  Sarah  and  I  get  to  keeping  house 
properly  and  have  decided  which  is  to  pour 
the  coffee,  we're  going  to  return  the  compli- 
ment with  a  dinner  that  will  make  your  eyes 
stick  out,  aren't  we,  Sarah  ?  " 

"  Ob,  we'll  do  a  great  deal  more  than 
that,"  responded  generous  Mrs.  Crane. 
"  We'll  keep  four  extra  places  set  at  our 
table  all  the  time." 

''Of  course  we  will,"  cried  Mr.  Black, 
heartily.  "And  we'll  fill  the  biggest  case 
in  the  library  with  children's  books  —  we'll 
all  go  to-morrow  to  pick  out  the  first  shelf- 
ful  —  so  when  it  gets  too  cold  for  you  to 
stay  in  Dandelion  Cottage  you'll  have  some- 
thing to  take  its  place.  You're  going  to  be 
little  sunny  Dandelions  in  the  Black-Crane 


A  Silence  Explained       311 

house  whenever  your  own  people  can  spare 
you.  But  what's  the  matter?  Have  you 
all  lost  your  tongues  ?  I  didn't  suppose  you 
could  be  so  astonishingly  quiet." 

"Oh,"  sighed  Bettie,  joyfully,  "you've 
taken  such  a  load  off  our  minds.  We  were 
simply  dreading  the  winter,  with  no  cottage 
to  have  good  times  in." 

"  Yes,"  said  Jean,  "  we  didn't  know  how 
we  could  manage  to  live  with  the  cottage 
closed.  We've  been  wondering  what  in  the 
world  we  were  going  to  do." 

"  But  with  school,  and  you  dear  people 
to  visit  every  day  on  the  way  home,"  said 
Marjory,  "we'll  hardly  have  time  to  miss 
It.  Oh !  won't  it  be  perfectly  lovely  ?  And 
won't  Aunty  Jane  be  glad  ?  " 

"  I'm  going  to  begin  at  once  to  practise 
being  on  time  to  meals,"  said  Mabel.  "  I'm 
not  going  to  let  that  extra  place  do  any  wait- 
ing  for  me" 

These  were  the  things  that  the  four  girls 
said  aloud ;  but  the  joyous  look  that  flashed 


312  Dandelion  Cottage 

from  Jean  to  Bettie,  from  Bettie  to  Marjory, 
from  Marjory  to  Mabel,  and  from  Mabel 
back  again  to  Jean  said  even  more  plainly: 
"  Now  there'll  be  somebody  to  care  for  Mrs. 
Crane,  now  there'll  be  somebody  to  make  a 
home  for  lonely  Mr.  Black." 

And  indeed,  subsequent  events  proved  that 
it  was  a  beautiful  arrangement  for  every- 
body,  besides  being  quite  the  most  astonish- 
ing thing  that  had  happened  in  the  history 
of  Lakeville, 


